


Out

by BulletStrong



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, SQ - Freeform, Swan Queen - Freeform, swanqueen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-08
Updated: 2015-08-08
Packaged: 2018-04-13 13:22:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 45,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4523631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BulletStrong/pseuds/BulletStrong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina breaks up with Robin after returning from the NY road trip. She begins to question her sexuality and decides to test the waters with a familiar face in town. Emma’s jealously rages and Killian is confused.  Some Red Queen. Mostly Swan Queen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Coming Out

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hello! Reviews, favorites, and/or follows are greatly appreciated! I think this is going to be my first multi-chapter OUAT story. There are small appearances by Hook and Hood but nothing cringe-worthy.

Regina never thought her life would lead her here. Sure, she was always miserable, lonely, and full of hatred but she had always been confident in herself. But the few weeks since the trip to and from New York, all she had been doing was question everything. The uncertainty was driving her mad. When Robin crossed the town line with Marian…well, Zelena… she felt a sense of relief, which perplexed her. She cared for him, right? Yes, but not the way she knew Tinkerbell wanted her to. He was a sweet, generous, family man but the spark was not there. He didn’t incite butterflies and she didn’t really miss him. During this contemplation, Regina even dug up her handy dictionary, scrolled through the S section, located the word soul mate, and sighed with relief when she realized that she was home free.

Right there on the page, “Soul mate (Noun): a person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner.” 

Soul mates could be friends and for the first time since returning to Storybrooke, Regina Mills slept like a baby because yes, he was her soul mate but not romantically. She felt free. But the insanity didn’t end there.

She had always noticed the female form, her eyes lingering a bit too long for Cora’s taste. So, she did what she always did. Beat the impulse out of her. Except, she never could. No matter how hard her mother tried, Regina’s eyes sought out women. Of course, Regina, being the smart woman she was and is, learned to control her impulses around her mother, father, and others. It was her father who was the most successful in straightened her out. He would stroke her hair after an educational screaming match with Cora. He would sit next to his sobbing daughter, combing his wrinkly fingers through her luscious hair, and tried to instill the same lesson as Cora, but with a softer approach. 

“Regina, darling, it’s alright to look. Women are very soft, beautiful creatures. But you understand that your desires cannot and should not be acted upon. It would bring shame to this family and you deserve the best, my dear. One day, you’ll meet a boy that will make this all mute. You’ll see.”

It never vanished. The heat between her hips when glancing upon women’s bosoms, the flood of arousal when hearing those sensual voices purr, the excitement of seeing women undress… just never faded. Of course, she never dared to act upon those feelings during her youth. She watched from afar and berated herself when the shameful thoughts arose. When her mother did something, she did it well. Daniel arrived shortly after. She loved him but she never desired him. He made her happy but he didn’t unleash her passion. So, after several rejections, Daniel finally questioned her.

“My love, I want to make love with you and each time I try, you push me away. What is going on? Are you afraid that your mother will find out?”

She was tired of living a lie and holding this secret inside. So she told him the truth, all of it. And he accepted her. And he understood. And he told her it was all right and that she would be all right. And loved her anyway, even though he knew nothing physical would ever happen between them. He was her greatest friend. He also encouraged her to secretly date. She found Maleficent and they shared a passionate night together. But that was all it was: one night. After Mal, she continued to suppress the desires, especially after Daniel’s death and her marriage to Leopold.

But sitting on the bench at the docks, waiting for Robin, Regina allowed those thoughts to run rampant. Her parents were dead and they all lived in a realm where people like her didn’t have to hide. She was ready to live, actually live. She was ready to flirt with a female, touch a female, and love a female. It was time. Regina wanted to be her best for Henry and as long as she hid this part of herself, she could never truly be free, be the mother her son wanted and needed.

“Regina, is something wrong?” Robin stomped his way towards the bench, analyzing her face for a clue as to what would urge the woman to call at six o’clock in the morning on a Wednesday. 

“You know,” Regina smiled, “For the first time in forever, I’m pretty damn good.”

Robin sighed with relief, “Well, I’m glad to hear it. I suppose I’m just wondering why we’re here?”

Regina peered out at the boat’s swaying lightly, “Sit down, please.”

Robin’s eyebrows shot up, his eyes scrunching together, and Regina noticed how unattractive he looked. He peered down at her suspiciously for a few more beats before lowering himself next to her on the chipped, yellow bench. He attempted to encircle her shoulders but she shifted quickly, putting herself just out of his reach. He, once again, made that unappealing facial expression.

“Regina?” He interlaced his fingers together; getting the message that she wasn’t up for physical contact, “What’s going on? You can tell me anything and we’ll work through it.”

“Robin, I need to tell you something that one a select few know and I need you to not react immediately,” Regina picked at loose flecks of paint on the bench below her fingertips. She felt her eyes water without her consent, “I need you to be gentleman and not betray me or shame me.”  
“Sweetheart?” Robin paused, holding his breath.

“You are a good man. I should consider myself lucky to have you in my corner and I do,” She saw his smile appear and she savored it because the next sentence would tear it all down, “But I don’t want to be with you romantically.”

His smile disappeared and was replaced with a deep frown, “Excuse me?”

“Robin, when I was young, about fifteen, I met a girl named Faith. She was the daughter of my chambermaid. She was my only friend at the time. As she and I continued to see one another, gossiping and forging a deep friendship, my feelings for her became less and less platonic. I wanted to hold her hand, and kiss her, and lay in bed with her all day. I told my parents that I finally found someone I could marry and when they found out it was Faith, they fired her mother and severed all ties. I was devastated and confused. When I asked why, my parents said I was wrong, that being that way was wrong. So, I tried and tried to bury those urges so deep that I allowed myself to be molded. They tried to change me but they couldn’t. So, no matter how well you treat me or how much I want to passionately love you, I can’t. I won’t allow myself to continue this cycle of lies. I’ve decided to pursue life the way I see fit. Do you understand?”

Robin was stunned. He gaped at her for several moments before chuckling. Regina furrowed her brows, not understanding what in the hell he found so humorous about her inner turmoil.

“Gina, if you don’t want to be with me, you don’t have to concoct some elaborate lie to make me feel better.” 

“That was not a lie. The rest of my life has been one.” Regina crossed her arms over her chest, almost willing him to walk away before another idiotic sentiment rolled off his tongue. 

“We had sex!” He shouted before realizing where he was and lowering his voice to a frustrated whisper, “We had sex and you liked it. You were responsive. You came for goodness sakes!”

“Yes, well, I’m a very good actress.”

“My lord! This is a joke, right?! Some sick joke! You’re… not a lesbian!” Robin shot up from the bench, lifting his arms and slapping them onto his thighs out of anger. 

“I am, Robin. I’ve been denying it for a long time and I’m tired of it. I’m not going to let you deny me now. Accept it or not, I don’t care. Just stay out of my way.” Regina lifted herself off of the bench regally, keeping her head up high. She turned swiftly and sauntered to her car. She only allowed the tears to flow when she curled up on her bed while clutching her memory foam pillow to her chest.  
She cried for a lost friendship that had potential. The tears smudged her makeup, practically removing her blush and causing her eyeliner to run and leave streaks. Her dark locks started sticking to her face. 

A forceful knock reverberated of the walls of the mayoral mansion. Regina lifted her head slowly, releasing the pillow and placing her feet onto the plush carpet. Quickly, she ripped three tissues from the box resting on her beside table and wiped her makeup off. Another knock. Regina stomped down the staircase and ripped open the front door to reveal Robin. He was leaning on the doorframe, looking dejected. 

“I’m an ass,” Robin whispered as if stating a fact. Regina smiled weakly, “I was caught off guard by your announcement and it hurt because I love you but I had no right to denounce you the way I did. After you walked away, I sat there and thought over everything you said and I realized that if I really love you the way I know I do, I had to accept and encourage you. Regina, I want you to be happy, even if it’s with a very lucky lady.”

“Thank you.” Regina felt her traitorous eyes water. Robin noticed and took her into his arms.

“So what now? Are we keeping this a secret?” Robin asked, rubbing his hands up and down the brunette’s back soothingly.

“No, I need everyone to know so that I can’t back out last minute. But first, I have to tell Henry. Maybe the Charming clan as well.”

“Okay. When?” 

“Today. No more lies.”  
~~~~~~~~~

“Ma! Come down here!” Henry called. A groan was heard from the second floor and Snow let out a bark of laughter. Charming silently flipped a pancake, smirking gleefully. 

“Geez kid. Relax.” Emma yawned. The boy shrugged while shoving his textbooks into his backpack.

“Is Regina picking Henry up from school today?” Snow questioned, snatching a pancake from Charming’s plate. 

“Yeah, Gina’s picking him up and I’ll pick him up after my shift is over.” Emma plopped down next to her son and began building her plate. Silence descended over the Charming’s as they chowed down on their pancakes, bacon, and eggs. Emma let out a small belch, receiving a glare from Snow and a chuckle from the boys. A knock disrupted the quiet and Henry jumped up to answer. He yanked up the door to show his mother, who looked nervous and fidgety. 

“Hey mom.” Henry smiled, stepping aside to allow her in. Regina entered, throwing a shy smile at her son.

“Hey Gina. What’s up?” Emma asked, chewing on a forkful of scrambled eggs. 

“I’m sorry for interrupting your breakfast.”

“You’re not interrupting. Have you eaten?” Snow stood. Charming looked ready to retrieve another plate. Regina shook her head.

“I need to speak to you… all of you. It’s very important but I suppose it can wait until later.” Snow gestured her forward.

“No, no. We’re pretty much done. Give us five minutes to finish up.” Henry grabbed Regina’s hand and led her to the table. She sat down next to Emma, throwing her a smile. She felt a twinge of arousal shoot through her when the smile was reciprocated brightly. 

Regina had always thought that Emma was beautiful. Her green eyes and striking blonde, flowing locks left her breathless. She had the largest crush on the savior even though she knew that option was off limits. Emma and the pirate had been heating up, especially since the road trip. I guess distance really does make the heart grow fonder, Regina sighed. Regina had never been so attracted to anyone as she was Emma. The ridiculous crush was part of the reason she was so hostile towards her in the beginning. 

“So what’s going on?” Snow queried, plopping back into her seat. 

“Henry, sweetheart, grab a chair and come here.” Henry complied, grabbing a stool and placing it next to his mother.

“So, I need to tell you something that’s been simmering inside of me for a very, very long time,” Regina cleared her throat, feeling it constrict on it’s own. Everyone was looking at her with concerned expressions, “I, um, oh god—”

Henry interlaced fingers with his brunette mother, “It’s okay mom.”

Tense silence filled the room for a few moments while Regina pinned back her hair with shaky hands, “I’m…I’m gay.”

It was like time froze. Snow gawked at her former stepmother with shifting eyes. Charming eyes widened imperceptibly. Henry smiled lightly, his hand squeezing hers. Emma, though, was the personification of shock.  
“I’m sorry, what?” Emma whispered.

“I’m a lesbian. I never enjoyed being with men but my mother conditioned me to believe that my homosexual feelings were wrong and not to be acted upon. I can’t continue living this way anymore because now there’s no one to blame but myself. My parents are gone, I broke up with Robin, and this realm is accepting. I’m ready. I hope this isn’t too much for you all.”

Henry hopped off the stool and embraced his mother tightly, “I’m happy for you mom! I’m not that surprised anyway.”

“Really kid ‘cause I was just mind blown.” Emma joked.

“Yeah, mom was always checking Ruby out,” Everyone turned to see Regina blushing, “Plus, I don’t think anything could be worse than the whole Evil Queen thing.”

Regina chuckled, “Thank you, my little prince. I’m so proud of you.”

“Are you going to start dating?” Henry smirked, “I heard that Ruby’s single.”

“Oh my—” Regina blushed deeply.

“I think she likes you too,” Henry laughed, “She calls you Mayor Hotness when you’re not around.”

“Henry!” Snow shrieked, still processing the facts.

“And Ruby is really sexy!” 

“Henry!” Everyone shrieked this time.


	2. For Starters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina learns the ropes and asks someone out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that followed, reviewed, favorite, etc.… It’s so awesome and really, really appreciated!

The news spread so damn quick it gave Regina whiplash. Surprisingly, People were very accepting and the glares diminished. Snow said that the dwarves thought it made her seem human. Not that she cared what the peasants thought. But it was nice to go to Granny’s or the supermarket without feeling like holes were being burned into her back. Another positive was that Ruby seemed to flirt with her every chance she got. 

“Hello Mayor Hotness,” Apparently the nickname came to the forefront now that Ruby found out about her sexuality and Regina ate it up, “The usual?”

“Yes please.” Regina sent a sparkling smile toward the younger brunette, who winked as she collected the menu. Regina watched the retreating form openly. Wow. Admire a female openly, without fear of retaliation. Well, there was slight fear when it came to Granny, who was playfully glaring at her. Regina shrugged, as if saying ‘it’s partly your fault she’s so nice on the eyes’. Granny chuckled and shucked her glasses down from the top of her head onto the bridge of her nose. 

“Here babe,” Ruby set a chicken salad in front of the mayor before placing herself in the seat across from Regina, “So, how’s your day been?”

“Really good. No meetings. No nuisances. Lunch with you.” Regina felt so damn smooth; especially when Ruby sent a wolfish smile her way. 

“Wow! Who knew that Madame Mayor had game?” The ladies laughed genuinely. 

“I did but it was a bit more hostile than what you’re used to Ruby,” The savior sauntered up to the two women with an insincere smile, “Don’t you have customers to help?”

Ruby listed her hands in surrender before slowly lifting out of the booth, “Talk to you later Gina?”

“Would you like to go to The Rabbit Hole with me tonight?” Regina asked shyly.

“Sure, sounds great.” Emma responded after taking the seat that was vacated by the waitress.

“Oh, I was taking to Ruby.” Regina tilted her head apologetically, grimacing slightly. Emma furrowed her brows. The blonde felt heat coloring her cheeks from both anger and embarrassment. Emma was utterly confused. A few weeks before, a loose woman flirted with Killian and Emma hadn’t felt the impending doom that she felt whenever she watched Regina and Ruby interact. It was driving her insane. She wasn’t gay or bi… right? Emma always took notice of women around her, sometimes more so than men but she never paid it a second thought. And she never would have if Regina hadn’t confessed to being a lesbian. It shocked the shit out of her.

But the ongoing flirtation between Ruby and Regina boiled her blood. She knew that Regina was beautiful but the situation was ridiculous. She cared for Killian and was attracted to him… right? Of course! 

Then why did it feel like this slight flirtation would bother her more than if Killian were to have sex with someone else?

“—I ‘ll pick you up at 7:00?” Emma resurfaced from her stupor to hear the last piece of the conversation.

“Sounds great Ruby. See you later.” Regina beamed. The wolf winked before returning to the kitchen. 

“Seriously?” Emma glared at her kid’s adoptive mother. 

“Emma, I just came out. Like Henry said, Ruby is sexy. She’s shown interest in me and to be honest, I need to get back on the wagon, the right wagon.” Regina sipped from her lemon water. She chewed on her lettuce slowly, trying to avoid uncomfortable conversation. No such luck.

“Ruby is Snow White’s best friend, you realize this? You want to bang Snow’s gal pal.” Emma clenched her jaw.

“Don’t be condescending. We’re just getting drinks and seeing how things go. I’m not going to just jump into bed especially after doing that with Robin. I want to be courted.”

“By Snow’s gal pal?” Emma snorted. Regina slammed her napkin onto the middle of her plate.

“Yes, with my former mortal enemy’s shape-shifting gal pal.” Regina sighed. She grabbed the lemon that was floating in her glass and gently sucked. Emma was entranced. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Have I told you how hot you look?” Ruby whispered sensually in Regina’s ear causing the older brunette to shiver.

“Only about a hundred times,” They chuckled. Ruby raised her hand, indicating to the bartender that they were ready for another round, “So, have you always been interested in women?”

“I’ve been bi since my teenage years.” Ruby kissed the skin below Regina’s left ear. The mayor giggled uncharacteristically. The bartender dropped two shot glasses in front of the affectionate ladies. They held their glasses and prepared to clink them together when Ruby’s was swiped.

“Hey!” Ruby and Regina turned in time to see Emma down the shot.

“Hey.” The blonde responded sarcastically. Regina glared at the blonde lightly.

“Emma, what’re you doing here?” Regina sighed. Emma swiftly stood between the two brunettes. 

“The kid is at a friend’s house,” Emma turned to Ruby, “He has friends now. And Mom and Dad wanted alone time, if you know what I mean.”

All three women shivered with disgust. Ruby subtly rolled her eyes. She noticed that Emma was always attempting to insert herself (literally) between them. It was starting to irk her. At first, she thought it was a friend protecting a friend because, in all honesty, Ruby used to be a bit of bed-hopper. She liked Regina. She always had, even when she was just the bitchy mayor. Now, though, the bitchy mayor seemed to have an admirer other than herself. 


	3. Drinking and Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma is uncomfortable but for reasons she is not willing to admit. Appearance by Hook.

“Wanna dance?” Ruby gestured towards the dance floor, raising her brows in a suggestive manner. Emma craned her neck, glaring at the young brunette.

“But the floor is so crowded,” Emma scoffed before turning her attention back to Regina, “Have you tried the new pizza place yet?” 

“Emma,” The older woman sighed, “You know I haven’t. We’re going to try it tomorrow with Henry, remember?”

“Oh, yeah, but we could go tonight and, you know, scope out the joint.” Emma gripped the bar top until her knuckles turned white. Ruby sneered, flashing her brilliant teeth. 

Regina felt the tension sweep over the trio, “Swan, we’ll eat together tomorrow. Ruby and I are—“

“I get it.” Emma snapped before sprinting out of the bar, slamming the door with unwarranted force causing the glass to shatter. Regina gasped harshly, covering her mouth with both hands. Ruby shook her head in disbelief as the bartender ran to inspect the damage.

“Son of a bitch. Who do I call when the Sheriff destroys my property?” The bartender, Quasimodo, scratched his head. Regina stood quickly and approached the hunchback. 

“May I?” The sorceress pointed at the glass littering the floor. The man nodded and took several steps back. Regina lifted her hand slowly, allowing her magic to flow from her fingers. The glass floated upward and in a flash, tethered itself back together and into its proper place. 

“Oh thank you, your majesty!” The hunchback smiled widely. Regina accepted his handshake.

“Please call me Regina. I am no longer a queen.” Quasimodo nodded swiftly before leading her back to her seat.

“Order whatever you’d like ladies! It’s on the house!” Ruby chuckled, tilting her head in order to inspect the former queen better. Regina humbly returned the laughter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The diner was deserted. It was 9:00 am on a Monday and all the civilians were too busy to chow down on bear claws and cheap coffee. That was fine by Ruby. It gave her time to daydream about her… girlfriend? Regina and Ruby had gone out every night after the bar debacle, except for the night that Regina promised Henry pizza. It turned out that Emma didn’t show up. She dropped Henry off and sped away. 

The blonde was avoiding the two brunettes. She would come to the diner during Ruby’s breaks and would exchange the teenager with Regina but avoid any and all conversation. It was pissing Ruby off. Not because Emma and her had been close but because Emma was Regina’s best friend. The rejection was stinging the older brunette, even if she would attempt to hide it. 

The bell chimed to reveal the beautiful mayor, “Hey! What’re you doing here?”

“I finished my paperwork and had no meetings,” Regina smirked, “So, I thought I give myself a little treat.”

Regina leaned over the counter top and placed a sweet kiss onto Ruby’s lips causing the release of a small moan. Ruby’s eyebrows lifted as a smirk settled on her lips, “Just a little treat?”

Regina chuckled, smiling conspiratorially, “Where’s Granny?”

“She stayed at the B&B, didn’t feel well,” The wolf smirked, “Why?”

“No reason,” Regina snickered as she pulled Ruby from behind the counter by her apron straps, “Did you miss me, Pup?”

“You have no idea,” Ruby ran her long fingers down Regina’s back until she reached a round rump, squeezing roughly, and lifting the older woman slightly. Regina hissed seductively. 

“Jesus, people eat here,” The two brunettes yelped while jumping apart. Emma scrunched up her nose in disgust, “Can’t you two keep it in your pants for five seconds? No one wants to see that shit.”

“Your usual?” Ruby sighed, exasperated by Emma’s attitude. Regina backed onto the stool at the counter top, her eyes never leaving the blondes. 

“Yeah, nix the side of PDA please.” Ruby rolled her eyes before practically sprinting to the kitchen. Regina looked away from the savior after a few moments, choosing to focus on the counter top pattern. She began tracing the imperfections with her finger. She had no idea what was wrong with the blonde. She was ignoring her and Regina couldn’t figure it out. Was it the rejection of pizza that night? That couldn’t be it. Although it was debatable, Emma wasn’t that childish. 

“So that’s what get’s your motor running, huh?” Emma asked coldly. The blonde’s leg was bouncing causing the booth to squeak. The sound was irritatingly high pitched. 

“I’m having a good time. She’s been very good to me,” She heard Emma scoff, “Okay, what’s going on?”

“Nothing, I—“

“Emma, please, I’m not an idiot. What’s going on? Are you uncomfortable with my relationship with Ruby?”

“Regina—“

“Because I can end it before anyone gets in too deep,” Emma gaped at her friend, “Emma you are so important to me… and Henry! If you don’t approve, I could find someone else. I understand that it’s a bit strange for you because she’s your godmother and she’s Snow’s best friend. Is that why you’re avoiding me?” 

Emma felt guilt building in her gut. She whispered, “No, that’s not why I’m avoiding you.”

“So you are? Avoiding me, that is?” Emma nodded slowly before making her way to the stool next to Regina.

“I need to tell you something but I’m terrified for so many damn reasons.” Emma leaned her elbows onto the counter, rubbing her eyes with her palms. 

“You can tell me,” Regina let out an amused breath, “It can’t be bigger than my last announcement.”

“You’d be surprised—“ 

“Order up!” Ruby shouted from Emma’s vacated booth before making a show of dumping the plate onto the tabletop. The door of the diner was ripped open suddenly, causing all three occupants to jump. 

“Love!” Killian sauntered into the diner, immediately placing himself practically on top of Emma. He reeked of alcohol… at 9:30 am.

“Killian—“ Emma placed her hand on his chest, attempting to push him away.

“Swan, you’ve barely said two words to me all week. I was starting to worry.” Regina sighed, standing rapidly and making her way towards Ruby. She placed her hands on her muscular hips and a soft, lingering kiss onto the waitress’s lips. She whispered her goodbye, stating that she had work to do, which Ruby knew was a lie. 

“I’ll see you later?” Ruby whispered softly, only for Regina’s ears. The mayor nodded, giving the wolf a small smile before walking out. Ruby watched Killian wrap his arm around Emma’s shoulder. She frowned. Is that why Regina ran out of the diner as if it were on fire? Did Regina like Emma too?

“Killian, I’ve been busy. I have a job and a teenager. Please understand.” Emma sighed, subconsciously leaning away from the pirate.

“Aye, I understand but I’d like to state my concern anyway.” 

“Duly noted.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The white mansion looked grand and picturesque in the pink and orange evening sky, Ruby noted as she walked towards the building. She knew that she had to ask Regina about her theories. It was causing a nervous knot to rumble in her chest. She didn’t want to impose or be nosy but if she was going to continue their relationship, she didn’t want any secrets. She reached the front porch to see Regina already waiting for her. 

“Hello, Pup,” Regina sealed their lips together, releasing with a pop, “Come in. Dinner will be ready soon.”

Ruby followed her into the study, taking the glass of apple cider offered, “Gina, come here.”

The wolf patted the plush seat adjacent to hers. Regina smiled seductively before straddling Ruby’s thighs. The mayor looked so exquisite in her tight, black dress and red heels. It almost made Ruby forget her inquiry. 

“I need to ask you something, sweetness,” Ruby stroked Regina’s cheek lovingly. Regina grabbed her wrist; placing a sweet kiss onto her pulse point, “Do you like Emma?”

Regina smiled shyly, “Of course. She and I have come a long way. I consider her a great friend, even if we’ve hit a bit of a rough patch right now.”

“No, sweetness,” Ruby whispered, afraid that a fireball was going to be thrown in her direction and singe off her eyebrows, “Do you like Emma in a non-platonic way?”

Regina seemed breathless before chuckling sarcastically, “Of course n—“

“Don’t lie to me… please.” Ruby pleaded, caressing the woman’s cheek with the pad of her thumb. Regina’s eyes watered without her consent. Ruby’s thumb caught each traitorous drop before it could ruin her counter parts makeup.   
“How did you know?” Regina whispered sympathetically. Ruby lowered her eyes dejectedly. 

“I heard everything… at the diner… and the way you automatically reacted to Killian’s presence.”

“I’m—“

“Don’t apologize. You can’t help it. Love is fucked up like that.” Regina shook her head causing the soft waves to bounce. 

“I’ve had feelings for her for a long time but I can’t have her so I want to move on and, Ruby, believe me when I tell you that I like you a lot. I really do. We can be happy together. You make me happy.”

“Sweetness, I think she may love you too,” Regina gnawed her bottom lip, chuckling darkly, “I know you think it’s impossible but I’m telling you because I’ve noticed things, okay? She’s so jealous of me. She wants to be in my position.”

“Pup, there’s nothing there. She loves Killian.” Ruby shook her head.

“Look, I don’t wan to break up because you make me happy but I want you to see what I see. Look at her face when we’re together. She used to be a friend, now she hates me. What’s changed other than our relationship?”

“Ruby, I don’t want to hurt you and I’m not going to use you to try to make Emma jealous, which is preposterous because Emma doesn’t care for me in that way. I want to continue seeing you because I like you and enjoy spending time with you. I’ll get over her and, in a blink, I’ll be head over heels in love with you, you’ll see!” Ruby passionately kissed her. It saddened her to see Regina seem so desperate. Who was she trying to convince: Ruby or herself? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma slammed the apartment door in Killian’s face, not allowing him entry. The man was nipping at her heels like a Lost Boy. It was irritating her to no end. She knew she was being unfair. In the past, she encouraged his puppy dog routine but after realizing how deep her feelings for Regina went, everything he did aggravated her. 

“Swan! What’s going on?” Hook yelled through the door. 

“Go home Killian!” Emma yelled back, pounding her palm against the wood. The reverberations burst through Killian’s eardrum, which had been sitting on the door in order to catch any sound from the apartment. 

“Ah, mate! Is it something I did?” Emma banged on the door repeatedly until, “All right! All right! Message received!”

“It’s about fucking time!” Emma shouted. Snow appeared from her bedroom.

“Emma, what’s going on? Was that Hook?” 

“Unfortunately.” Emma stormed into the kitchen, swiping an apple and taking a gigantic bite. Snow’s eyes widened at her daughter’s attitude and antics but decided not to question her further and turned back to baby Neal. Emma strolled to the couch, swiped the remote from the side table, and switched on the television. Snow checked the time.

“Sweetheart, shouldn’t you be at the station? Regina was complaining about Charming’s grammar and she said she wanted you to write out the reports.” Emma shivered at her name.

“She’s too picky. I’ll deal with her later.” Snow chuckled.

“No one simply deals with Regina Mills.” Snow lifted the baby into her arms.

“I want to.” Emma whispered, going unheard.


	4. Forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma get's angry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you would like to follow or chat with me, I'm amvilas on Tumblr and @SwanQueenSwen on Twitter.

The passionate excitement flooding her body is what she had been missing her entire life. Ruby gently bit her earlobe. The moan that slipped from her mouth should have embarrassed her but she’d been waiting for that level of lust for a long time, the kind that wraps itself around every atom and caresses until you’re weak in the knees. 

“You should check on dinner, sweetness.” Ruby purred before stroking Regina’s silky hair soothingly. 

“Let it burn.” The women smiled, bumping their teeth in an attempt at a kiss. Ruby allowed her hands to make their way from her backside, down her milky thighs and plump calves, to slip off her heels. 

“Come on, Gina, I’m starving.” Regina groaned, prompting a big laugh from the woman under her. 

“How can I refuse my Pup?” Regina smiled, lifting herself off of Ruby’s lap. The wolf lightly tapped Regina’s bum as she made her way to the kitchen. Ruby smiled, running her fingers over her lips, thinking about the kisses the two had shared. She knew that, like most of the citizens, she should resent the former evil queen. She couldn’t. In the Enchanted Forest, Ruby was lost. She hurt her loved ones and felt lonely. The curse brought suitors and a livelihood and a permanent home and indoor plumbing. She also didn’t have to worry about turning and hurting others without meaning to. It was blessing in disguise for the wolf.

“You okay?” Regina appeared at the doorway, smirking at the daydreaming brunette.

“I’m really great,” Ruby beamed as she walked towards her girlfriend, “I don’t care how our story ends. I’m just going to enjoy every second with you that Fate allows me.”

“How is it that you make me feel fifteen again?” Regina placed her hands on Ruby’s face lovingly as she gave the wolf an Eskimo kiss. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, Regina, I’m glad you could detach yourself from Ruby’s bosom long enough to come have family dinner.” Snow giggled. Regina glared at her former stepdaughter. Emma slumped down in her seat, not actually eating but just moving it around sluggishly. 

“I didn’t forget about you all… unfortunately.” Regina winked at her son. Henry glowed while sipping from his water, attempting to hide his amusement behind his cup. 

“So, what’s it like? Dating someone that makes you ‘feel fifteen again’?” Regina gasped when Snow imitated her voice. 

“Oh my lord, I’m going to murder Ruby!” Regina blushed.

“I think it’s beyond cute.” Snow clasped her hands over her heart.

“Told you not to date Snow’s double agent.” Emma whispered mockingly. Regina scoffed at the blonde, smacking her forearm lightly. The sorceress turned back to the younger brunette.

“It’s exhilarating. I’ve never felt so… free and cared for.” Snow squealed. Emma dropped her fork causing the clink to resonate throughout the room. Everyone jumped. 

Charming cleared his throat, “So, how has the new staff at the mayor’s office been treating you?”

“Great. They’re much more competent.” Regina laughed. Charming returned the gesture before shoveling another forkful into his mouth. It amazed those present that they could sit and laugh together after their long and notorious history. It felt like a close-knit family.

“That’s good,” Snow brushed aside the topic change, “Ruby said that you cooked for her. That’s so romantic, isn’t it Charming?”

Charming shifted his eyes towards his daughter cautiously, “Uh huh.”

“She said you guys are going to the beach—“

“Enough!” Emma shouted, slamming her hands on the table, “Enough. Jesus.”

Emma pushed her plate away violently before running up the stairs, away from the table. Charming sighed as he balled up his napkin. He glanced towards Regina, wanting to gauge her reaction. He wasn’t blind. He picked up clues from Emma and Regina. The prince knew that there were mutual, strong feelings between his daughter and the queen. And weirdly enough, he was okay with it. More than okay with it. So, he pushed himself up from the table slowly and made his way upstairs. His pointed look told everyone to stay put. 

Before reaching the top of the stairs, he heard Snow whisper with a watery tone, “Was it something I said?”  
Charming tapped quietly on his daughter’s door, “Em, I’m going to come in, okay?”

He heard a murmured ‘okay’ before pushing through the thin wooden door. He pressed his hand against the oak and gently shut it with a small click. He sat himself next to Emma on the bed. He finally noticed the tears running down her cheeks.

“Oh, sweetie.” Charming place his arm around her, squeezing her into him. 

“I feel like society is tugging me in one direction and my heart is shoving me in another,” She hiccupped, “What do I do?”

“You can’t listen to everyone else. Don’t let your life take the same solitary path that Regina’s took. I don’t want you to wake up in twenty years and wonder where it all went wrong. I think… you already know what you want. You’re just afraid.”

Emma furiously wiped her eyes, “That’s a fucking understatement.”

“My sweet girl,” Charming sighed, “Stop exploding at her. Stop pushing her away. Fight. For. Her. And you’ll prevail.”

Emma gaped at her father, “You knew?”

“Oh, Emma, you’re not subtle.” Emma blew out a breath.

“Does she know?” Charming chuckled.

“She’s just as blind as your mother. Honestly, I think she blocks out the signs for fear of rejection and disappointment. She doesn’t want to get her hopes up.” 

“But Ruby—“

“Emma. Stop. She’s in love with you. It’s so damn obvious that she’s just trying to move on because she thinks you would never reciprocate.”

“I’m so screwed.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The beach was packed with people. The sun was bearing down and Regina fanning herself while leaning on her elbows on her towel. She was watching Ruby play volleyball with Henry and felt happiness surge through her veins. Her girlfriends emerald bikini wasn’t helping Regina cool down at all. 

“Hey.” A timid voice murmured. Regina shielded her eyes before glancing upwards and coming face to face with Emma. The blonde’s timid smile sent butterflies aflutter in her abdomen. 

“Emma!” Regina beamed, “What’re you doing here?”

Emma plopped her bum onto Regina’s towel and turned towards the brunette. Regina instinctively placed a hand on the savior’s thigh causing both women to gasp. 

“I’ve been an ass!” Emma shouted. The surrounding families glared at the duo, showing their disapproval. Emma lowered her voice to a whisper, “I’ve been an ass.”

“So you’ve said… to practically everyone in Storybrooke.” Regina smiled, gesturing to the constituents that were still glaring at them.

“I’ve been going through some shit and I’ve been a crappy friend to you. I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you for the apology,” Regina caressed Emma’s thigh, “I’ve missed you.”

Regina wrapped her arms around the blonde’s torso tightly. Emma held on for dear life, shoving her nose into the brown locks. Regina’s perfume invaded all her senses, spiking her arousal. Emma brushed her fingers through her hair slowly. Ruby watched from a distance. She didn’t know if she should feel happy for Regina because her love was showing signs of reciprocation or if she was upset because she was losing the woman that brought her such happiness. All she could do was watch it all happen before her eyes.


	5. End All, Be All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Insight into Emma's thoughts. Regina and Ruby make a decision.

It was already 2:30 am and Emma saw no sleep in sight. The apology went extremely well but she wasn’t ready to jump into a relationship, especially considering that she was already in one. She hadn’t seen Killian since she slammed the door in his face. There were rumors swirling around that he was practically glued to a bar stool at the Rabbit Hole. It was unsurprising, as everyone knew of Hook’s affinity for rum. Quasimodo mentioned in passing that the pirate seemed sullen, which wasn’t shocking. The woman he sold his ship for was sailing in a different direction and Emma didn’t have the mindset to even feel bad for him. What idiot sells a life long possession for a woman he barely knew? 

But Killian wasn’t what kept her up at night, literally. Like always, even before realizing that she cared much more than she thought, Regina was keeping her awake. This time it wasn’t anger but… a crush?

When she first arrived in Storybrooke and laid eyes on the brunette, she was instantly attracted. Who wouldn’t be? But now, thinking back, Emma was startled to realize that this care she felt towards the brunette had been festering for a long time. When Regina was down in the mine, attempting to thwart Greg and Tamara, the panic Emma felt at losing her was unusual considering that the two women were even friends. When Regina told her that stopping the device would take all her strength, Emma’s body ceased to function for several beats and her hands shook on their own accord. It was as if her body sensed the love but her mind blocked it out. As if her brain was protecting her soul because the two women were toxic together then. Now, they were friends and they hugged and held hands and… Oh my God, they had been unconsciously dating.

They would go to dinner without Henry at fancy restaurants wearing their best outfits. Emma wrote a goddamn dress! They sat in the candlelight and talked about everything and anything. They were a ‘couple’. Emma felt her commitment issues rise from her gut, strangling her windpipe. Those ‘dates’ were the happiest moments of her life. She felt free to be herself around the other woman and her heart felt light under Regina’s amused gaze. She loved Regina. Emma’s breathing became shallow and she was sure that the walls were closing in on her. 

After Neal, she vowed to never allow anyone but her son to wrestle his or her way into her heart but Regina had done it without even trying, without Emma noticing. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t continue feeling this way. The uncertainty of where she stood scared her. She’d never felt this way about anyone, not even Neal. She couldn’t let the wolf take her chance with Regina away. But before she declared her love from the rooftops and burst into a choreographed dance number, she had to make things right. She wasn’t going to ‘steal’ Regina; she was going to woo her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruby watched as Henry attempted to successfully skateboard across the concrete basketball court without busting any major organs. The boy was covered in scratches and scabs from past failed attempts. It was comical to watch an overtly clumsy boy try to balance on a wooden board but watching Regina watch the boy was even better. The woman had her bottom lip between her teeth, wiggling the flesh back and forth. 

“Careful!” The older woman shrieked when Henry tripped and landed on his already shredded palms, “Lord. He’s not going to have skin by the time this is over.”

“I’m surprised you, the ten time world champion mama bear, let him do this.” Ruby stated, a wide grin puffing her cheeks. Regina rolled her eyes.

“He’s fourteen. I’ve lost all control,” Ruby chuckled, patting Regina’s thigh lovingly. Regina smirked, “And even if I refused, Emma would bring him behind my back.”

Ruby paused as her smile diminished slightly, “Speaking of the savior, what did she say to you that made you hug her so vehemently?”

“Ruby,” Regina warned in a stern tone, “Don’t be jealous.”

“I’m gathering intel for future reference. You know, for our first fight, I can sweet talk you into my arms and such.”

Regina chortled, “She apologized for being, and I quote, ‘an ass’.”

“Good because she was a major, and I quote, ‘ass’.” Regina couldn’t help the laugh that burst from her lungs causing several park-goers to smile in her direction. The older woman had gained respect from most citizens. In fact, many of them stopped her on the street to thank her for her bravery. She came to hear of several people that came out because they believed if the mayor could do it, so could they. It warmed the queen and, for once, she felt something akin to affection for her constituents and they seemed to reciprocate. It definitely put a spring in her step. 

Regina turned her wide eyes on the woman next to her, “Pup, has anyone ever told you how wonderful you are?”

“Several, but your opinion is the only one that matters.” Ruby kissed Regina’s temple. Man, Ruby was crushing hard. That made the next sentence even harder to swallow.

“Gina?” Regina hummed, “She knows now.”

“Hmm?” Regina was focused her son, who was taking a break and a sip of his Gatorade.

“Emma. She figured out how she feels about you.” Regina sighed dramatically before turning her gaze to the wolf, her expression exacerbated. 

“Pup, I already told you that Emma is never going to love me so can we just drop this subject. Please.”

“Gina, I care for you, okay? All I want is for you to be happy and you love her. If she loves you back, there is no way I can allow myself to step in between that.”

“In between what?” Regina questioned sardonically. 

“A true love pairing,” Ruby exclaimed, watching Regina’s expression turn to disbelief, “Here me out, okay? Fate has brought you two together in crazy, mysterious ways. Your lives have been intertwined since your inception. It’s creepy but true. And you and Emma’s story, it’s beginning to resemble Charming and Snow’s.”

Regina gaped at the younger brunette before scoffing, “Do you not want to be with me?”

“What? Gina, I feel so much for—“

“Then stop!” Regina shouted sternly, “Why are you pushing Emma and I together if you want to be with me?”

Ruby felt tears gather at the corner of her eyes, “Because I care about you. Before this relationship, we were good friends and I see this unstoppable love in your eyes when you look at her. You don’t look at me like that.”

“Ruby, my feelings for her have been building for a long time—“

“But not for me!” Ruby whispered, “You could have built love for me over the years but you didn’t. Honestly, I understand, okay? If I were given a chance to be with Peter again, I would run to the ends of the earth to chase it. And it’s not that my feelings for you aren’t real, they are. But the love that you have for her and that I have for Peter, it can’t be replicated by sheer want. You and I can wish and pray and hope but we can’t build that connection, that… that feeling of being whole that we get when they’re around.”

Regina felt tears roll down her cheek, dropping off her chin and splashing onto her coat, “But Pup, we can’t have that. It’s not in the cards for us. Peter is gone and Emma… is in love with Killian.”

“Oh, Gina, no.” Ruby shook her head fervently. Regina lifted a hand to stop any further commentary.

“And if Peter is gone and Emma is unreachable, are we suppose to wallow in despair, destined to be alone forever?”

“No, sweetness. We keep searching for our new other half. I can’t help but think that one day, I’ll meet someone that completes me again because I’ve been, not broken, but severely bent for a long time.”

“And it’s not me?” Regina whispered, her voice cracking from emotion.

“Sweetness, you have no idea how much I wish I could say you were but we both know the truth, even if you don’t want to see it.”

Ruby lifted her lithe hand to slowly wipe away tears from Regina’s face. She sighed. It was the right thing to do even though it hurt both of them at that moment. Yes, they were extremely happy together but they could bring each other happiness as friends. And yes, they were attracted to each other but that was skin deep. And of course, she cared for the former queen and could see a future together but that future contained misery if they both deflected the truth and attempted to move forward when the knew it could never work.

“We’ll still have lunch and go to the beach and gossip. I’ll run to you whenever you need me because you’re my best friend, more so than Snow ever was, and being friends with you would bring the same happiness we have been feeling as a couple.”

“Promise, Pup?” Regina sniffled. Ruby grinned, reaching for her hand and rubbing thumb across the back in a consoling motion. 

“You couldn’t get rid of me even if you tried,” Regina grinned and Ruby leaned in conspiratorially, “Let’s hold off on telling anyone about our breakup.”

“Why?” Regina scrunched her brows.

“We have to get Emma’s head out of her ass,” Ruby smirked, “and quick!”


	6. Realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snow discovers and freaks out

Ruby, Snow, and Regina were strolling down Main Street, enjoying the warm Saturday afternoon. The women were laughing so hard that tears gathered in their eyes and Snow had to hold onto a metal pole to avoid tipping over.

“I can’t believe you accidently sat on a red ant colony at the beach!” Snow cried, pointing at Ruby in mockery. Ruby chuckled and held onto Snow to stop the woman’s descent. 

“It’s not funny! It hurt like a bitch!” Ruby shrieked causing Regina to double over. If the people of Storybrooke found the sight of the women enjoying each other’s company strange, they didn’t show it. But in reality, they were taking huge leaps forward. It made Regina wish that she had let go of her vendetta long ago. 

“I’m sorry, Pup, but it was extremely funny.” Regina stated once she got her bearings. Ruby smiled widely.

“Yeah, yeah, it was kind of hilarious. My pain is your gain.” Ruby teased. Regina put her arm around Ruby, pressing the woman to her playfully. 

“You two are adorable.” Snow beamed while wiping stray happy tears. Ruby grinned. No matter how confident Ruby seemed at the park about their friendship, she had been worried about the possibility of their relationship deteriorating. Luckily, Ruby had been right. The two women continued life as if nothing had occurred, except there were no romantic dinners and/or canoodling. But everything remained great. They were closer than ever. Regina finally opened up to Ruby about Daniel and his effect on her life and Ruby told Regina about Peter and his death, which still haunted the wolf. Ruby knew that she and Regina were always meant to be friends. They understood each other in ways no one else could. Except for Emma. But that was a completely different tale for another time. 

“So, Snow, when are you going to return to teaching?” Regina leaned in towards the new mother, “Whoever decided that it would be a good idea to make Shere Khan your replacement is a complete buffoon.”

“I don’t know. I want some more bonding time with Neal before I go back. But I won’t drag it out. I heard that the kids are terrified of the man.” Snow giggled.

“No matter how fast you run, no matter where you hide, I will catch you and you will give in that assignment!” Ruby imitated Khan jovially causing the other two to chuckle deeply. A flash of blonde strolling their way caught Ruby’s eye and the wolf smirked internally before wrapping her arms around Regina from behind, pressing nose below the older woman’s ear. Regina tilted her neck to throw a questioning glance at her Pup.

“Hey guys.” Emma smiled. She was trying extremely hard not to react negatively on the outside. But internally, she was kicking and screaming like a petulant child. Emma had always been a jealous person. She figured it had to do with her abandonment issues. She expected everyone to leave her for someone else because, as most foster parents told her, she wasn’t worth keeping around. She didn’t want to rip Ruby limb from limb but it was her animal instincts, which was really ironic considering that the other woman was a mutt. 

“Hello Emma. Patrolling?” Regina questioned, smiling brightly at the blonde causing tingles to spread all over. How had she not noticed the effect Regina had on her sooner?

“Yeah. Henry’s at a friend’s house and Dad told me he had to stay home to watch Neal so I volunteered to take over his shift.” Emma replied, her eyes wandered down Regina’s form discreetly. Well, not discreet enough to fool Snow, whose eyes widened imperceptibly. She let out a small gasp as her eyes darted between her former stepmother and her daughter, watching them make doe eyes at each other. Well, that was a conversation for later that evening. 

Snow cleared her throat and plastered on a small smile, “Speaking of your father, I should get home. I don’t want the apartment to turn into a danger zone.”

“Sure. See you Sunday for family dinner?” Regina asked softly and Snow nodded before walking away calmly. Once she turned the corner and was safely out of view from the three other ladies, Snow began to sprint awkwardly, almost knocking over Archie and Pongo. 

“Charming!” Snow flew through the apartment threshold like a bat out of hell.

“Snow?” Charming popped his head out from the bedroom, “What’re you doing back so soon?”

“I’m freaking out here!” Snow covered her mouth with both hands, her knees bent slightly. 

“What happened?” Charming panicked. 

“It’s Emma! And Regina! It’s Emma and Regina!” Snow shrieked, almost piercing Charming’s eardrum. 

“Oh no.” Charming mumbled, drawing out each syllable. He was dreading this moment. He loved his wife but sometimes she could be a bit rash. The prince expected the meltdown but he hoped that she could relax and think logically. As parents, they needed to put Emma’s wants and needs above an old vendetta that had dried out months before. Charming was of the firm belief that if Regina made his daughter happy then Regina had his blessing. Plus, he always saw a slight resemblance between the two headstrong women. That’s why he was extremely hostile towards Regina when Emma and Snow were sucked to the Enchanted Forest through the hat. He lost his family because of Emma’s need to protect the former Evil Queen. Now, he knew why she was so protective. It wasn’t all about Henry.

“Charming, she looked at Regina with love in her eyes and Regina mirrored that love! I saw it with my own eyes!” Snow slammed her palms on her thighs dramatically.

“Snow—“

“I can’t believe this! It’s… it’s…”

“Snow—“

“Fantastic!” Charming froze. Did he hear his wife correctly?

“Snow?” Charming felt pride well up in his heart. Snow suddenly threw her arms up in the air, seemingly feeling victorious. Charming laughed.

“Oh Charming! It makes so much sense now! My poor Emma was jealous of Ruby.” Charming shook his head in disbelief. This conversation was going way better than he thought.

“So, you’re freaking out because…” Charming’s question lingered in the air.

“I’m so happy! Oh, this is perfect. Don’t you understand? I took away Regina’s happiness when I told Cora about Daniel but, now, I could give it back to her. My daughter can save Regina’s heart. Oh, they’d make such a great pair! I bet it’s true love—“

“Whoa, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.” Charming chuckled. Snow’s eyes widened and she exuberated joy.

“Listen, listen. Their lives have been intertwined from the start. Fate led Emma to Regina. Mr. Gold could have given Henry to anyone in order to bring Emma here but he chose Regina. Why? He knows something. They could raise Henry together as a family. Regina and I are destined to be family.”

“Snow, you have to let things happen naturally. I’m seeing some crazy in your eyes.” Charming chuckled, watching his wife practically skip across the apartment.


	7. Misunderstandings and Dirty Pirates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Killian shows his true colors and Regina retreats

The sheriff’s department had been relatively quiet so Emma gave her father the day off and began filling out paperwork. After an hour of writing, writing, and more writing, Emma decided to play a nice round of trash bin basketball. Her bliss was short lived when she suddenly heard the telltale sound of Killian’s shoes tapping towards her. Emma sat down at her desk with a dramatic sigh and roll of the eyes. She had been avoiding him because she knew she had to break up with him and if the past was anything to go by, Killian Jones did not take no for an answer. The handsome pirate appeared in her office doorway with a cocky grin.

“Swan!” The man made his way around her desk in order to stand in front of her, “Have you missed me?”

“Missed you?” Emma grinned amusedly, “Hardly.”

“Oh c’mon, love, you can tell me the truth. You’ve realized just how much her heart yearns for me and you’re running scared.” Hook smiled crookedly, his blue eyes leering. 

Emma couldn’t prevent the chuckle of disbelief that flew out of her mouth, “Are you… fucking kidding me?”

There were several beats of silence before Killian placed his index finger under her chin, lifting to force eye contact, “I love you too.”

Emma sat stunned. She knew this man. He gave everything up to be with her and she believed that in the future, after his heart repairs itself, they could be friends.

“Killian—“ A soft knock interrupted Emma’s rejection. The two occupants turned to see Regina at the door, her hands clutching a stack of manila folders. It was obvious to Emma that the brunette had heard some of the conversation. Unfortunately for the savior, Regina simply heard the pirate’s declaration and decided to interrupt, wanting to avoid hearing Emma return the man’s advances. 

“Regina!” Emma shot out of her seat, bumping Killian off of the desk corner. In turn, Hook accidently knocked over a transparent box containing paperclips causing them to scatter all over the floor.

Regina grimaced, “I just wanted to drop off these blank report forms. You mentioned you were running out.”

“Thanks. Um…” Emma murmured, aware that the mayor was misinterpreting the situation.

“No problem.” Regina cleared her throat, lingering awkwardly in front of the desk as if she had something to say but felt uncomfortable to do so with Hook in the room. Emma turned to tell the man to give them some privacy but was too late.

“Regina, if you don’t mind, we were having a special talk here.” Killian stated impatiently as he dumped the remaining paperclips back into their original container. Regina startled before nodding. 

“Of course.” The brunette answered shakily before sprinting out of the office. 

“What the hell!” Emma pushed Killian’s shoulders roughly. The pirate landed on the green, faux leather couch with a thud. 

“What?” Hook shrugged his shoulders, a smirk overtaking his face, “That dyke needs to run along. I’m tired of her making eyes at my woman!” 

Emma gaped before unnecessarily shoving the man back, “How dare you?”

“What’s the big deal?” Hook exclaimed, “I’m showing her that you’re mine!”

“I am no one’s possession!” Emma yelled, “And I care about her! You were so rude, making her believe something happened that didn’t.”

“You were about to tell me you love me too. How is that not special?” Killian flashed an insincere smile. 

“Except that I don’t! I don’t love you and, right now, I barely like you!” Emma shoved his legs out of her way before making her way to the door.

“Yes, and you’ll never love me, will you? You’re already all in with that woman!” Emma’s steps faltered. He knew. Emma deliberately turned to glare at the man, “Aye, mate, I know all about your little crush. I saw it at the diner when you told Henry that Regina was sacrificing herself for the town. You admired her for her bravery but then, on my ship on the way to Neverland, that’s when it became clear. You didn’t realize it at the time but your eyes softened every time she came into view. It was abhorrent.”

The room went still. The only noises heard were the creaking of the old pipes in the wall and the wind sliding over the glass window in the corner of the office. The pirate wasn’t finished.

“But I thought I could change you. After all, you had no bloody idea about your own feelings and sexuality. It was too easy. I practically forced you into this relationship through guilt. How can you resist a man that sold his ship for you? You can’t. And you didn’t. I sincerely thought that your little girl crush would fizzle away once you experience what a real man could do for you, to you. But you never wanted me to touch you. Sure, I was allowed small kisses and hugs. My sexual advances were rejected, my romantic gestures were not appreciated, and my love was underrated! All because of the Evil Queen. How quaint.”

Hook rose from the couch menacingly, “I’m tired of being ignored.”

“Are you not listening to me?” Emma chuckled darkly. Who was this man? What happened to the Killian she enjoyed spending time with? Emma supposed he never existed. That man was a façade used in an attempt to bed the savior. 

“Things are going to change, love. We’re going to start over and you’re going to give me the chance I deserve!”

“I don’t owe you shit! And you’re right Hook. Things do change. For example, we’re over. I don’t want to see you until you’ve overcome your Napoleon complex. I need you to understand that I gave you a chance, a chance, because I was unaware of my feelings for Regina and because I thought you were a good guy! Obviously, I was wrong!” Emma didn’t falter this time. She sped out of her office, leaving her old perception of life and love behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Regina walked dismally into the diner, feeling grateful for the fact that it was pretty much empty save for Grumpy, who was drinking the day away as usual. It was five o’clock somewhere, as he would proclaim. She had entered the diner in hopes of talking to her Pup about the debacle with the greasy Captain and Emma but Ruby was nowhere in sight. 

“She’s in the back taking her lunch break.” Granny explained as she wiped off the counter. Regina nodded her head gratefully before making her way to the back room. She knocked on the door and heard a light ‘come in’. Regina entered the small room and saw Ruby slouched on one of the loveseats with a Chinese takeaway container resting between her thighs.

“Why do you order Chinese when you work in a fully stocked diner?” Regina chuckled lightly. Ruby smiled widely before ladling fried rice into mouth.

The younger brunette sipped from her soda, swallowing with exaggerated movements, “The inner wolf wanted pork fried rice.”

Regina smiled; it didn’t quite reach her eyes. A normal person wouldn’t have caught it but Ruby was a wolf. She sensed everything. And Regina was her best friend and former girlfriend; she knew all the moods and facial expressions. 

“I was going to reach out to her, like you encouraged.” Regina began, reaching forward to remove a stray piece of rice from Ruby’s cheek. She sat down lightly on the coffee table. 

“But?” Ruby questioned. She placed her container on the side table and gave Regina her full attention.

“I went to the station in hopes of asking her out on a date like you and I had planned… but when I got there, I discovered the pirate had beat me to it… He told her he loved her,” Ruby groaned, “I didn’t want to hear her say it back so I interrupted. I gave her the forms, which was my ruse to get into the office, and I was hoping that she would take notice of my hesitancy to leave and would ask Hook to give us a moment.”

“And… she didn’t?” Ruby scratched her temple. Regina shook her head.

“She didn’t. Hook practically told to me scram because they were having a special moment.” Ruby loudly groaned, throwing herself into the couch. The younger woman lazily slapped the loveseat with her fists. 

“That man is a waste of space.” Regina chuckled shakily, Ruby noticed and pulled the woman into the loveseat and embraced her, “Hey… It’s going to be okay. Emma didn’t say it back and maybe she… maybe…”

“It’s okay, Pup. I can’t force her to stop seeing that fool, let alone make her love me. It’s out of my control. And I really love her so I’m going to have to support her happiness, even if that means supporting her and Hook.” Ruby nodded sadly. Emma needed to hurry up and make a move. Regina was losing patience and hope.


	8. Lift Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get better

Emma charged out of the station, hoping that Regina was near. When the empty street greeted her, she began wandering in hopes of bumping into the brunette. After five minutes of avid search, Emma finally same to the conclusion that Regina went to her comfort zone. 

“Her Pup.” Emma mumbled gloomily. She jogged to her intended destination with determination shining in her eyes. As she turned the final corner, she was greeted with the sight of Regina stepping out of the diner. An involuntary small smile lit up her face. 

“Gina!” The savior called and saw the brunette turn instantly. 

“Emma?” Regina questioned, “What’s going on?”

“When you were at the station,” Emma took a large breath, gasping from the speedy trek to the diner, “It looked like you wanted to talk to me about something. And for the record, nothing was going on. You weren’t interrupting anything special.”

“No, honestly, it’s none of my business. Anyway, it wasn’t that big of a deal and I’ve… figured it out on my own.” Regina sighed, flashing an insincere smile at the blonde. The blonde shook her head, chuckling sarcastically.

“Regina,” Emma stepped closer, “You weren’t interrupting anything… well, except for a breakup.”

Regina’s head snapped upwards, her eyes making contact. Emma swore she could see an upward tilt of the brunette’s lips, “Oh. What a shame.”

Emma laughed heartily and took another step closer, “That didn’t sound sincere, like at all.”

“Sorry. I didn’t think he was good enough for you, that’s all.” Regina smiled brightly this time. Emma couldn’t stop staring. Before Emma could retort, the diner door was thrown open and the mutt came out.

“Oh!” Ruby chuckled awkwardly, “My bad.”

“Ruby, could you give us a minute?” Emma pleaded with the wolf, her eyes widening dramatically before she pointed towards Regina, who was smiling at Ruby. The wolf propped her hands on her hips and sent a glare that could’ve burned a hole through her forehead.

“Actually, Gina, could you give me and Emma a sec?” Ruby watched Regina look back and forth between her two friends nervously. In an attempt to assuage her worries, the waitress climbed down the steps to place a kiss on the older brunette’s forehead. Emma’s hands automatically formed a fist, her fingernails digging into her palm. 

“Okay.” Regina reluctantly agreed. She moved past Emma, making sure to brush their shoulders together and give her hand a quick squeeze. She hoped Ruby gave the blonde a break. Regina slipped into her Mercedes that was parked down the block, closing the door with resounding thud. It sounded like doom to Emma. Once the two younger women were alone, Emma faced Ruby.

“What the hell are you doing?” Ruby whispered with a hard tone. Emma opened her mouth, ready to for a fight, but Ruby lifted her hand, “No, you listen to me now. Stop playing games. If you care for her the way I know you do, tell her. Stop dragging this out! I know you’re probably scared shitless because these feelings were pretty much dumped on you, you don’t know how your parents or Henry will react, and your dating Captain Douche—“

“I broke up with him,” Emma saw Ruby roll her eyes, “Like twenty minutes ago.”

“Took you long enough! Emma, I’m so damn serious here. If you love her, do something about it. If you don’t, leave her alone. She told me that was ready to try to move on—“

“She already did that.” Emma glared at the wolf.

“Oh please, you know nothing. Regina and I broke up a while ago. We realized that we’re better off as friends. I did it for her. But I swear, Swan, if she comes running to me heartbroken because you couldn’t get your shit together, I’ll veto that decision and take her for myself. She’s fucking great, okay? I never thought I’d say that about the Evil Queen but it’s true. She’s kind, loyal to a fault, and loves you so damn deeply. If you hurt her, I’ll hurt you. Got it?” Ruby growled. Emma gaped, her fists slackening.

“Rubes… did you just give me the ‘dating my daughter’ speech?” The wolf smirked before placing a blouse in Emma’s hand. The blonde gave Ruby a questioning glimpse.

“I was coming out here to give that to her. I borrowed it like forever ago and I just remembered I had it in the back. Give it to her for me,” Ruby reached for the diner door but offered Emma a pleading, undemanding glance, “Please don’t hurt her.”

“I’ll try. You know, I’m kind of an idiot so no guarantee’s. But I’ll try so hard to be the person she needs.” Ruby threw the blonde a small smile before making her way back inside the diner. The blonde paused, evaluating the conversation in her mind. She started. 

“Oh my God.” Emma gasped, feeling warmth spread throughout her body as she repeated Ruby’s words back, “She’s kind, loyal to a fault, and loves you so damn deeply.”

Regina tapped her fingers on the steering wheel rapidly. What were they talking about? The brunette turned on the radio, struggling to drown out her thoughts and the butterflies in her stomach. The popular station was playing some obscene rap song that made her slap the radio’s power button forcefully. She’d rather listen to her incessant, nerve-wracking thoughts. She sighed theatrically. She twisted her upper body, checking to see if the two most important women in her life were in view. They weren’t. She set her body straight again. Her leg started to bounce against the car mat. She checked the clock. 1:22 pm. A loud rap on the driver side window caused Regina to let out a small shriek. She relaxed a bit, still ridiculously nervous, when she saw Emma peering at her… lovingly? Why was she looking at her like that? Emma signaled with her left hand that she wanted Regina to step out of the vehicle. 

“Oh no.” Regina sighed, cursing Ruby’s name to every deity in existence. The blonde woman opened the door for Regina and outstretched a hand. The mayor climbed out of the car apprehensively. 

“Emma, I don’t know what she did but—“ She was interrupted by the softest lips caressing her own. Regina’s eyes widened comically, peering at the attacker as if trying to prove to herself that, yes, the woman of her dreams just kissed her. Once confirmed, Regina’s eyes slipped closed and she placed her hands on Emma’s hips. Emma shuffled closer, pressing their bodies together and feeling the delicious friction of skin. Oh how wonderful it was that it was warm out and the two were not covered completely, allowing for skin-to-skin contact. 

The blonde pulled away from the kiss slowly, practically dragging Regina, who was trying to lengthen the lip lock, forward. Once separated, Emma chuckled. Regina joined in, albeit with more confusion mixed in. 

“Wow.” Emma whispered, her breath stroking Regina’s lips.

“Emma?” The older woman whispered, almost afraid that the blonde would say it was a mistake. 

“I love you.” Emma smile was wide, her eyes glistening. Regina felt her knee’s give out a bit as she gasped.

“What?” Emma laughed again.

“I love you Regina Mills.”

“Could you repeat that?”

“Regina!” Emma exclaimed happily.

“Oh, Emma, do you know how long I’ve waited to hear you say that?”

“About as long as you’re making me wait right now.” Regina blushed.

“I love you too.” Regina yanked Emma forward by her tank top, minimizing the space between them again. Emma eye’s traveled down, lingering on the other woman’s mouth. The former queen smiled, pressing their foreheads together. They leaned in for another kiss but their smiles were so large that they simply bumped teeth.

“It’s about damn time.” They heard Granny grumble from the diner alleyway where she was dumping garbage.

“It is, isn’t it?” Regina whispered as she placed a loving peck on Emma’s nose.

Granny snickered, “I thought I’d croak before you two got your shit together.”


	9. Date (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ladies are a bit nervous

Emma was nervously chewing at her cuticles, checking her watch to see 6:03 pm mocking her. She was pacing furiously on the mansion front porch, wondering if she should ring the bell or knock or do something. She was early, obnoxiously so. Their date was set to start at 7:00 pm but she had been so excited for this moment and yearned to see the brunette. Yes, she saw her six hours ago but… okay, they were becoming a sappy couple that people rolled their eyes at. They were becoming Snow and Charming. Emma shivered with a goofy smile adorning her face. That sounded odd but nice, really nice. Emma had never felt so light in her life. Regina brought out the sensitive, romantic, and hopelessly devoted Emma. And the blonde felt as if nothing else mattered. Nothing could bring them down.

Except homicide, which is certainly what Regina would do if the blonde knocked on her door an hour early, effectively ruining her routine. 

This was their son’s fault. Emma was used to relationships that didn’t include dates, roses, romance, and goodnight kisses. So, she naturally fell into that pattern with Regina. After their kiss, Emma began to have dinner with Regina and Henry every night (except for the family dinner’s on Sunday’s that Snow hosted) and after Henry went to bed, they would stay up in the study and drink cider, tell stories, and make out. She would bring Regina lunch and sneak a single rose onto the mayor’s desk before she got in. That was romantic! Not enough, according to Henry.

One fateful Thursday night, Regina stacked their plates onto her arm like a waitress before shuffling into the kitchen to clean up. Emma watched her go because… well, what a view. But when she turned back to her son, she was practically smacked with scowl.

“Ma.” Henry sighed, shaking his head in disapproval.   
“What’s the matter kid?” Emma questioned, almost laughing at the fact that, yes, Henry definitely had his mom’s facial expressions down pat. 

“Ma, have you taken mom out on a date?” Henry glared his Ma down, actually making the blonde feel like she was in the middle of an interrogation. 

“Uh, n-no. Why? Should I?” Emma felt out of her element. The thought of a date never crossed her mind. She planned to do what all her boyfriends did to her: just jump in and hope you don’t drown. 

Henry whined, “Ma, you have to do things differently this time.”

“Why?” Emma felt like a five year old. Are we there yet? Where do babies come from? Why? Why? Why?

“Emma, mom has never been romanced by anyone other than Ruby and they weren’t together that long. Daniel was a secret. Leopold was forced onto her. Graham was… yeah. Robin was a desperate attempt to hide who she really was. She’s really insecure about herself. She doesn’t think she deserves the romance, and the flowers, and the dates. Or you. She expects to have no say or to lose you. You’re just trying to get pass that stuff but you should do it. She wants it from you. I heard mom tell Ruby that she wants to be courted.”

Emma smiled shyly, “She told me that too when she was telling me about Ruby.”

“So do it. Grandpa told me that dating is a beautiful process when it’s done with the right person. Maybe you’ll like it!”

And that’s how it happened. That’s why Emma was standing on the porch in a black and white casual tux, checking her watch again. 6:34 pm. This date had to be perfect. For Regina. She wanted the brunette to enjoy this evening so damn much because Henry was right, Regina was treated badly by almost all of her lovers and she deserved better. Emma was pretty sure the pressure was giving her an ulcer. 

“You know,” Emma jumped before glaring at Ruby, who looked way to smug for her liking, “you could just come in and wait for her in the study.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Emma asked and, for the first time in a while, it lacked malice. Ruby chuckled.

“She was freaking out about everything. Still is. I came down to avoid pulling my hair out when I heard the soles of your shoes cry out for help. Although, I do hear that pacing is good exercise, especially the way you’re doing it Speedy.”

“I guess we’re both having nervous breakdowns, huh?” Emma attempted a smile that ended up resembling a grimace.  
“Yeah, it’s cause you guys aren’t used to it.” Ruby opened the door wider, allowing the blonde entry.

“Dates?” Emma smoothed out her hair.

“Being so deeply in love. For people like us, the ones who have lost a lot, it scares us to love so much because we believe we’ll lose it all.” 

Emma gulped, “I can’t… lose her now… or ever…”

Ruby smiled empathetically, “Yeah. That’s why she’s brushed her teeth nine times and her room looks like Hurricane Regina torn through it. She’s scared. Remember, Em, Daniel died simply because he loved her. It’s hard for her to open herself up.”

“So what do I do?” Emma tensed, “I want her to feel safe.”

“Let her know she’s not alone here. Tell her you’re shitting bricks too. Tell her you’ve loved and lost too. Tell her you understand. I’ve tried but I have a feeling that she’ll only listen if it comes from you.” Emma let out a breath.

“I can do that.” The blonde was relieved. Ruby gestured to the stairs.

“Go. She needs you.” Emma climbed the stairs slowly, trying to formulate a speech or a comforting anecdote. That went out the window when she heard a small cry. Emma automatically ran to the master bedroom, pausing outside the door with a hand pressed against it. She grasped the knob tightly, hoping she heard wrong. Another whimper came from behind the door.

“Baby?” Emma called softly. The whimpers stopped abruptly.

“Emma?” She heard the husky voice of her love. Emma smiled sadly, upset that her counterpart was distressed.

“Yeah, sweetheart, it’s me. Can I come in?” Emma heard some shuffling.

“But I’m not presentable yet.” Emma smiled.

“My love, you always look perfect to me,” Emma waited, “Can I come in?”

“Okay.” She heard the former queen whisper hesitantly. She turned the gold knob slowly before pushing her way inside. Regina was sitting on the edge of her bed wearing only a towel. Her makeup was ruined, the tears falling from her glistening eyes causing the foundation and eyeliner to run. She never looked more beautiful. She trusted Emma to see her unprepared and the blonde couldn’t look away.

“You look stunning,” She heard Regina scoff nasally, “It’s true. You’re always so beautiful in my eyes, whether you’re a mess in a towel or the flawless Madame Mayor.”

Regina smiled shakily, her breathing slightly off kilter, “I’m scared.”

“Me too,” The brunette looked into Emma’s eyes and saw sincerity. The savior dropped onto her knees in front of her and clasped their hands together, squeezing reassuringly, “It’s okay to be scared.”

“You don’t think I’m being absolutely ridiculous?” Regina hiccupped. Emma chuckled softly, glancing around at the destruction left by Hurricane Regina.

“Never. Anything you feel isn’t ridiculous. We have those feelings for a reason,” Regina sighed with relief at the blonde’s words, “And I’m scared too.”

Regina smiled shyly, “Really?”

“Regina, my list of relationships is one fuck up after another. Neal let me go to jail. He left me. Walsh was a scheming, flying monkey that was gathering intel for Zelena. And Hook, well, you know him,” The brunette laughed lightly, “I have a lot of baggage and I act strong all the time but I have so many issues. I afraid that one day you’ll wake up and realized how much of a loser I am.”

“Don’t say that. You’re not a loser.” Regina sternly warned. Emma felt pride and love well up in her heart. No one had ever said that to her before.

“But I think I am because that’s what I’ve been told by former foster parents and boyfriends. But when I’m around you, I feel like the savior, the woman that can do anything and I’m scared that you’ll leave or that something will happen to you and I’ll be left here. And you know what I used to do when I was scared?”

“Run.” Regina answered quietly.

“Yeah but I don’t feel that with you. I’m scared but I want you so bad that my feet wouldn’t move an inch. I’m scared but I love you so much that it would physically hurt to stop now. I’ve never felt this way about anyone, Regina, not ever and that terrifies me to the core. But my heart needs you and I think your heart needs me too. We were meant to meet. We were meant to be here. We can heal together. We can have an amazing life. We need this. We deserve it.”

“I love you too.” Emma smiled brightly before leaning in to kiss the woman tenderly.

“Come on, baby, get dressed. Honestly, you could wear a garbage bag and I’d swoon.”


	10. In-Laws

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Regina need to get the secret off of their chests

Tony’s Town Square Restaurant was filled to the brim with couples and families laughing, eating, and enjoying each other’s company. The large establishment was playing its typical Italian music, like Funicula and Tu Vuò Fa' L'americano. Regina and Emma were standing inconspicuously by the front windows, watching all of the fanfare going on inside. 

“That’s a lot of people.” Emma stated unnecessarily. 

“Yes it is.” Regina chewed on her thumbnail for a moment before realizing that she could ruin her manicure and pulled her hand away as if she had been slapped. The two women were nervous, the breakdown in Regina’s bedroom made that obvious, but now, staring at the unsuspecting citizens, they became wrecks internally. Yes, the people accepted Regina and her sexuality. Yes, they accepted Regina and Ruby. Yes, they accepted the truce between former rivals. But would they accept the savior and the evil queen? Would they consent to the epitome of light and the epitome of dark as lovers?

They knew that their opinions shouldn’t matter but it did. Only Henry and Ruby were aware of the shift between them. Emma hadn’t told Snow or Charming. She realized, as she stood behind Regina wearing an expensive tux in an alleyway, that she probably should’ve told them before going on a very public date. But she was terrified of that too. Snow was going to have a meltdown, of that Emma was sure. There was no way Snow would accept it… right? 

“Regina,” The woman peered at her from her peripheral, “I can’t do this like this.”

There was a weighted pause, “Oh.”

“No! I want to do this but we need to do something else first,” Regina let out a breath and nodded, silently asking for elaboration, “My parents. They have to hear about this from me, from us, not from some Joe Shmoe.”

“Who?” Regina chuckled.

“It’s a saying from this realm. Anyway, I know that the reactions probably won’t be sunshine and rainbows but they need to know. No more lies, right? We’re tired of hiding.” Regina smiled, nodding her head and interlacing their fingers. 

“No more hiding. I want everyone to know that we love each other. I want to kiss you, hold your hand, and be affectionate in public. I’ve never done that and it’ll be strange for me but it’s something I’ve always wanted and I wanted to do it with you.” Emma nuzzled her nose into Regina’s hair, smelling her apple shampoo.

“Come with me?” Regina nodded. The two women trekked to the car, nestling themselves into the leather seats of the Mercedes, and released a sigh.

“I’ve done such terrible things,” Emma opened he mouth to argue but Regina beat her to it, “But I hope that Snow won’t take this personally. I hope she knows that that chapter of our relationship is over, that I’m done with vengeance, and that I’m dating you because I truly love you.” 

“Gina, I won’t leave you even if they don’t approve,” Regina felt lighter in hearing the blonde assuage her darkest fear that she would lose her before really even having her, “They love me, I know that now, and, no matter what, they’ll learn to deal with this. They have to because I’m not giving up on you. Not now, not ever.”

The brunette breathed shakily, “Alright. Ready?”

Emma leaned over the center console and placed a tender kiss to Regina’s exposed shoulder, “Yeah.”

Regina shifted the car into drive and began the short drive to the apartment. Emma leaned her head back against the headrest, stretching her neck in an attempt to take in more air in her already tight throat. Regina scrutinized the blonde, feeling guilty for everything and anything. After receiving forgiveness from most of the citizens, Regina started to think extremely self-deprecating thoughts at all hours of the day. It seems that when you hate a group of people, you don’t give a rat’s ass about their opinion of you or the crimes you committed against them. But when they like you and vice versa, you feel a deep, unnatural guilt that rots you from the core. 

“I can practically hear you thinking.” Emma whispered, not wanting to scare the brunette.

“I’ll tell you later,” Regina sighed, “One thing at a time.”

“Promise me that we’ll talk about whatever has you so down? You’re not alone anymore; I want you to feel comfortable sharing your problems, pains, and everything in between. You have me in your corner.”

“I know. And I hope you know that I want to be there for you in that capacity as well?”

“Yeah,” Emma smiled, “You what Henry said that convinced me do break my pattern and ask you to dinner?”

Regina shook her head and Emma continued, “Charming told him that dating is a beautiful process when it’s done with the right person. I think you’re it. You’re the right person.” 

Tears of happiness glistened Regina’s chocolate eyes, “I guess he’s not as moronic as I once thought.”

“I hear from the grapevine that he’s pretty charming.” Regina groaned dramatically.

Emma let out a bark of laughter and Regina couldn’t prevent the wide grin that she flashed at the savior.

“Idiot.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Snow and Charming were sitting at the dinner table with Henry, who was constantly checking his phone, waiting for a text from either of his mothers. He planned to spend the night with his grandparents in order to give his mom and ma some alone time. Yes, the thought of his parents having sex was making his skin itch but he wanted them to be happy so he made himself scarce. 

“So Ruby mentioned to me yesterday that she and your mother broke up?” Snow said with a high pitched, extremely suspect voice. She was fishing for information but why? Did she suspect something about his mothers? Henry cleared his throat before shoving another forkful of buttery mash potatoes into his mouth in order to buy himself time.

“Yeah but they’re still great friends. Ruby comes over a lot for girl’s nights and they hang out at the diner when mom has nothing to do at the office.”

“Oh,” Snow’s voice got even higher, as if she was trying to sound happy, “Are they… flirty?”

“Ew, Grandma,” Henry scrunched his nose, “I mean, they are. But they were like that before they dated.”

“Are they thinking of getting back together?” Snow continued her inquisition, stabbing at her carrots with unwarranted force causing a resounding clink that made the males flinch. Charming stared at his wife. The crazy was coming out. Snow had obsessed over Regina and Emma since seeing the looks. She would watch them, stare at them, and create situations that would put them in the same room. It made Charming tense. He didn’t want Emma to know that he discussed it with Snow, even if she figured out on her own. Plus, he didn’t want to push the women. They would confess their feelings when they were ready, not Snow. Then, they became aware of the breakup between Emma and Hook. Then, they became aware of Ruby and Regina’s breakup and Charming was afraid that Snow’s heart was going to give out. And they shared a heart! 

“I don’t think they will,” Henry answered slowly. Snow let out of sigh of relief and Henry narrowed his eyes, “Why are you asking so many questions?”

“No reason!” Snow yelled a little too loudly. Charming dropped his fork, wiping his mouth with his napkin, his eyes darting between his wife and grandson. 

“Grandma?” Henry weighed his options, “You see it, don’t you?”

Snow gaped before jumping out of her seat, “Yes! Henry, we’re not crazy right? Your mothers care for each other romantically, right?”

Henry was literally saved by the bell. Charming jumped out of his seat, trying to avoid the awkward conversation. He strolled over to the large door after he glanced back to check on the two at the table, who were having a stern staring competition, and unbolted the locks. He sighed as he ripped open the door; glad to have a distraction from the strange turn the conversation of the night took. Unfortunately, the objects of the discussion entered side-by-side. 

“Regina!” Snow shouted happily. Emma shrugged her shoulders in disbelief.

“Hey mom! Nice to see you too!” Emma teased. Snow ignored her comments, running to the brunette and embracing her. Regina froze for a minute, connecting her gaze with everyone else in the room, pausing on Charming, who simply shrugged. She finally gave in and wrapped her arms around her former stepdaughter. For the first time ever, Regina felt unadulterated warmth in her heart directed at Snow White. 

“Are you hungry?” Snow jogged to the kitchenette and pulled two plates from a cabinet.

“No, mom. Well, we’re hungry but—“ Emma was interrupted by the slam of the cabinet door and the shuffling of Snow’s shoes.

“No buts! I insist!” Snow began dumping food onto the ceramic plates. Emma noticed that she was putting extra on one of them, probably for her new gal pal. Emma chuckled and Regina gave her a sharp look.

“Emma.” The brunette widened her eyes and tilted her head in her mother’s direction. Emma sighed. Regina was right. This wasn’t the time to stall.

“Hey Henry, could you give us a minute,” It was an order, “We need to talk to your grandparents.”

Snow stopped her actions mid-stride and gulped. She looked at the two ladies and finally noticed their apparel.

“Emma, are you wearing a tuxedo?” Charming raked his eyes over her clothes as well, raising his eyebrows, “And Regina! You look sexy!”

“Never say that again.” Regina quipped. Emma snickered, covering her mouth with her left hand. The blonde took a moment to appreciate the brunette’s tight red dress, black stockings, and black heels that accentuated her shapely calves. Emma nodded, subconsciously agreeing with her mother.

“Let’s all sit. I—We—have something to tell you guys.” Emma interlaced her fingers with her girlfriend’s, trying to hide the gesture by standing really close. However, Snow had the eye of a hawk when it came to those two. She caught the gesture and gasped lightly.

“It’s happening!” Snow whispered hurriedly into Charming’s ear, punctuating her words with two succinct slaps to his forearm. Charming rubbed his wounds as he glared at Snow discreetly, “So lets sit!”

Emma gulped audibly as Regina’s thumb caressed the back of her hand before separating. The two sat across from Snow, who looked entirely too chipper, and Charming, whose eyes were so wide that Emma feared they would pop out. 

“Mom, Dad, we have something we have to tell you,” Emma grabbed Regina’s hand and she placed their hands on the table so that her parents could see. She swore she saw her parents send sly looks at each other and Snow lips twitch in amusement. It gave her some hope, “Regina and I—“

“YES!” Snow shot out of her seat with her arms extended skyward, “I knew it!”

Regina and Emma gaped before allowing themselves to join in on Charming’s vigorous laughter. Regina spoke up, “You knew?”

“No but I hoped!” Snow’s laughter turned to hiccups as the younger brunette began to tear up, “Oh, I’m so happy!”

Emma threw a larger than life smile at her love, who was staring at Snow with fondness filling her chocolate orbs. Emma felt relief and happiness flood every crevice in her body. Could this really be happening? Could her life finally be complete?

“I just have one question.” Snow sniffled as Charming handed her a tissue and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“What is it Snow?” Regina asked, mirth flooding her veins.

“You’re both powerful sorceresses,” Snow swiped the tissue under her nose before making eye contact with her daughter and future daughter-in-law (if Snow had a say), “With magic, can you give me more grand babies?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruby knew it was late but she couldn’t open her eyes to save her life. Granny left her to close the diner but she was so exhausted, she was thinking of shutting down early. No one goes to eat at 11:30 pm anyway. The wolf lowered her head onto her hands that rested on the counter.

“I gotta say,” Ruby jumped, “the service is extraordinary.”

She looked up to see that the owner of the voice was a goddamn goddess. She felt her heart palpitate and she felt drawn to her. She froze. The angel in heeled boots floated to the counter and offered her hand.

“Desdemona Hades. You, sweetness, are a sight for sore eyes. What’s your name?” Hades laughed and Ruby swore it sounded like heaven opening its gates.

“Ruby…Lucas! I’m Ruby Lucas,” She shook the offered hand but didn’t let go once the motion was over, “My Granny owns this place. I haven’t seen you before. Did you just arrive?”

“I was the queen of the Underworld but I got bored of ruling so I handed the throne to my sister. Thought I could use a change of scenery but, apparently, it’s just as hot here,” Hades stared at Ruby sensually and the wolf blushed.

"Oh, uh, I—“ Ruby stuttered. Hades was tall, towering over the other woman by an inch, likely less when the boots were removed. She had long, shiny black hair that Ruby wanted to run her fingers through. The former queen’s eyes were a light green, so mesmerizing. And her body! She was fit, her abs peeking out below her red, fitted shirt that accentuated her large, round breasts. She was perfect.

“You have a way with words, sweetness.” Hades teased and Ruby chuckled because her tongue was thoroughly tied. The connection was clear and for the first time since Peter, Ruby felt a thrill run through her that made her knee’s weak. Fate was giving her another chance.

Ruby looked skyward and whispered, “Thank you.”


	11. Ain't No Mountain High Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Double date... enough said

Life was supposed to get better, Emma whined internally as she stared at the rafters of her parents apartment. Fate was having a laugh at her expense because this situation was beyond okay. When woke that morning, she was a ball of nerves, preparing for a romantic meal at Tony’s was a lot of pressure. It cost her a shit ton of mullah as well. So, imagine her distaste when Snow heard that that night was going to their first date and insisted that double date was the only way to go. Never mind that Regina and Emma might have wanted alone time, or that Snow and Charming had already eaten, or that Henry couldn’t be left unaccompanied. No, Snow insisted therefore it was done. 

Regina simply smiled politely and watched as her girlfriend’s parents ran off to change into appropriate attire. Emma cringed. She had profusely apologized and explained that she didn’t expect that. Regina, ever the sarcastic pro, made a quip about Snow and Charming’s combined IQ. Bless her. And for a moment, when the four entered a crowded restaurant all smiles and jokes, Emma relaxed. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad. Spoke too soon.

Apparently Emma’s parents were lightweights. After three glasses of wine, they were asking inappropriate questions regarding ‘lesbianic sexual practices’. After the fourth glass, they were kissing and, yes, the two women caught sight of tongue. Emma was sure she saw Regina gag before stuffing a piece of garlic bread into her mouth. After the fifth glass, Snow decided that seeing her daughter give Regina a peck on the cheek was invitation to blurt out the fact that she used to have a gigantic crush on her former stepmother. Emma choked on her Pepsi when Snow admitted that she once fantasized about the mayor while she masturbated as Mary Margaret. Regina blushed profusely, especially when Snow accused her of giving Mary Margaret ‘homosexual tendencies’. It was safe to say that the date was sinking fast.

And yet, it got worse after the sixth glass. Snow decided that she needed karaoke and she needed it at that moment. Tony, the restaurant owner, was a saint, or the devil depending on whom you asked (Emma), because he found a damn microphone and attached it to the restaurants speakers. I guess when Queen Snow asked, the peasants delivered. Snow dragged an essentially comatose Charming onto the cashier counter on the left side of the room and began belting out an off-key and screechy version of ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’.

Emma mentally smacked her palm against her forehead as she watched her parents sway dangerously on the ledge of the counter. Emma groaned. She wanted to do well by Regina and this was... Suddenly, she heard raucous laughter in her ear. Emma snapped her neck to the right and saw Regina doubled over in laughter, barely managing to hold up her phone to record the musical tragedy that were Emma’s parents. Emma had never seen the brunette look so carefree and jovial. Emma couldn’t help but join in and, soon, the two women were crying from laughter, holding their sides.

Regina snorted, “Best date ever!”

Emma smiled widely. Oh, yeah, she was going to buy her parents a giant thank you basket. 

“Yeah?” Emma cackled as Regina lifted herself up and extended a hand, silently asking the blonde to stand. Emma complied and watched as the brunette began swaying to the beat.

“Remember the day I set you free. I told you ‘you could always count on me darling’. From that day on, I made a vow, I'll be there when you want me, some way, some how.” Regina crooned happily, bouncing on her heels. Emma watched as Snow pointed at Emma, encouraging her to join in on the madness. Emma looked around at the other patrons, who were clapping joyously and enthusiastically singing along, some were standing with their partners and dancing as well. Emma felt pure exhilaration soar in her chest. Who knew life could be this way? 

Emma swiftly wrapped her arms around Regina’s waist, pulled her extremely close, and began to sway with the brunette. The woman playfully danced and kissed and it was perfect. Emma turned Regina to face her and they both sang to each other playfully,

“There ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river wide enough to keep me from getting to you babe.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruby sighed. At 11:40 am, Snow asked her, well it was more of an order, to get her ass to the apartment to watch Henry. The wolf slouched on the couch. She had been serving Hades a late night meal. She said that Tony’s was packed with regulars and she was new so she wanted to ease into introductions. From there, they had fun, flirty conversation and sensual touches until Snow damn White called and the wolf ran to her aid like a dog being accosted by its owner. And the worst part was that before she could ask the goddess for a number or address, she was gone. Ruby was sure that she saw a small red cloud and guessed that her new crush was a sorceress. But as Ruby locked up, she spied waded up money and a folded napkin on the counter. Hades left her number. The wolf patted herself on the back.

“So, why was I rudely ordered to babysit you again?” Ruby asked Henry, whom she knew should be in bed but, hey, if the adults acted like flaky bitches, she assumed the kid got free reign. 

“My moms told Gram and Gramps that they’re dating, they were fine with it by the way, and then Snow did what she always does.” Henry laughed, sitting by the window with his handheld gaming device.

“She butted in!” Ruby cackled, “Don’t tell me she—“  
“Invited herself of their date,” Ruby burst out laughing, “Oh God, Emma and Regina are probably miserable.”

“Hey, Ruby, doesn’t Tony’s close at 12:00?” Ruby furrowed her brows.

“Yeah, why?” 

“Well, it looks like there’s a party going on down there.” Henry sat up straighter, attempting to get a better view of the lively restaurant. The brunette sidled up next to him and they both gaped at the scene.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laughter sounded throughout the mansion, as Emma and Regina lay side-by-side on the brunette’s ironically queen sized bed. After partying through all the musical classics that this realm had to offer, Tony sent everyone home because he needed to close shop. The two women drove Snow and Charming, who immediately snoozed in the Mercedes back seat, back home and ordered Ruby to do as she pleased with them. Henry shook his head amusedly before hugging his mothers goodnight and running to his room to hide from the chaos that was the two intoxicated buffoons. Regina swore she heard Ruby curse them out as they ran back to the car. Upon arriving at Regina’s home, the two women stripped down to their underwear and reminisced funny tidbits of the night. 

“I’m pretty sure I dislocated my hip during ‘The Final Countdown’.” Emma chortled as Regina laid her head on the blonde’s ample chest. The brunette laughed.

“Oh come on dear, I’m at least thirty years older than you and I’m fine. Don’t tell me the great Emma Swan can’t get jiggy with it?” 

“I never want to hear the word jiggy come out of your mouth ever again.” Regina threw her head back and laughed causing her to back away from the blonde a bit. A comfortable silence fell over the two as they smiled widely, thinking about their night. 

“That was one of the best nights of my life.” Regina whispered. Emma felt tears well up in her eyes. 

“Yeah?” Emma laughed shakily, “I thought maybe that act that you were surrounded by mortal enemies would bring the date down.”

“Actually, it made it better.” Regina sighed contentedly. She lifted her head to look into Emma’s glistening eyes.

“Really?” Emma prodded, her fingers picking at the lace of Regina’s panties.

“Emma, in the car, you asked me what was wrong. I was feeling guilty, as I have the past couple of months, about my crimes against the people of this town. I keep wondering how the hell they could forgive me. Then tonight, I witnessed Snow White jump for joy at the fact that I was dating her daughter and something clicked in my mind. If she can forgive me, the one I hurt the most, then I need to start forgiving myself,” Emma played with a piece of the brunette’s hair, nuzzling their noses together, “Then, at the restaurant, I saw affection in their eyes, all of them and it directed towards me, towards us. My negativity melted away and for the first time in my life, I didn’t feel the need to look over my shoulder. I am free, sweetheart.”

Emma opened her mouth to response but was cut off by Regina’s lips. Once they broke apart, the brunette continued, “When you asked me out on a date, I imagined roses and candlelight and a romantic dinner. But after tonight, I realized that that wasn’t what I needed. I needed to know that I fit in here, that I’m a part of this community. That I matter. And seeing everyone smile in my presence and dance, and dance with me, it was the greatest gift you could ever have given me, Emma. I matter.”

“Oh, Regina.” Emma hiccupped. The savior felt her lover’s speech resonate throughout her mind, body, and soul. They mattered. To each other. To Snow White and Prince Charming. To Henry. To Ruby. To Storybrooke. They mattered. They had a home.

Emma leaned in to seal their mouths and mumbled against the brunette’s lips, “If I wasn’t so damn sore, I’d jump your bones.”

“Way to ruin a moment, dear.” Regina snickered against Emma’s mouth, starting up another bout of endless laughter.


	12. Drunkards and Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snow recovers and they have a girl's night

“Did you hear that Gaston is trying to bring back 90’s fashion?” Ruby snorted, refilling Regina’s coffee mug as the older brunette grinned at her over the diner counter.

“I thought I saw MC Hammer swaggering down Main Street this morning.” Regina teased before sipping from her mug. Ruby laughed breathlessly as she pretended to clean the counter in order to avoid Granny’s wrath. 

“What’s so funny?” Emma grinned as she returned to the stool next to her girlfriend after a quick bathroom trip. 

“Gaston.” Ruby leaned her forearms on the counter.

“Hammer time!” Emma imitated some of the famous hand movements causing the two brunettes to chuckle. Regina smiled affectionately before grasping the blonde’s hand and placing their entwined hands on the counter comfortably. 

“So cute,” Ruby pouted dreamily, “I’m so happy for you guys. And I heard about your little date last night!”

“Thanks Rubes.” Emma smiled shyly, a blush coloring her cheeks. Regina snuggled up to the blushing blonde, landing a gentle kiss to her nose. Emma’s blush deepened. Who knew PDA couldn’t feel so exhilarating? Now she knew why couples did it. 

The diner door was slowly opened to reveal a swaying, groaning Snow wearing giant sunglasses. The trio at the counter gave each other sly looks. Snow steadied herself on the doorframe. 

“Ow,” Snow moaned before looking towards the counter and seeing three gigantic grins teasing her, “Oh no.”

“Oh yes,” Ruby giggled mischievously, “Come sit, drunkard, I have hangover remedies in the back.”

Snow wobbled to the stool next to her daughter as she gently lifted her black sunglasses onto the top of her head, “Good lord, tell me last night was a dream.”

“No, it was quite real,” Regina smile teasingly, “I have video proof.”

Snow groaned, dropping her head on the counter, “Regina.”

“I emailed it to Henry this morning. He’s going to piece together the golden moments and set it to circus music.” Regina grinned mischievously before lifting her fork and stuffing scrambled eggs into her mouth. Her grin remained large, making her look like a villainous cartoon character. Snow simply grunted.

“Here you go boozer,” Ruby whispered comically into Snow’s ear as she set down a glass and a plate of food, “I read in doctor-y article that a Virgin Bloody Mary and a nice, hot, greasy breakfast actually helps.”

Emma hummed nonchalantly as she looked over the menu, even though everyone knew she was going to order her usual, “I’ll keep that information locked and loaded.” 

“So, girls, I was thinking—“ Ruby began.

“Uh oh.” Regina teased, running the fork prongs across her white teeth. Ruby glared back playfully.

“I was thinking…” Ruby gave Regina a pointed stare, “that we should have a girl’s night!”

Emma groaned while Snow and Regina exclaimed, “Yes!”

“No!” The blonde leaned back dramatically, the back of her head connecting with her upper back. Snow playfully slapped Emma’s bicep.

“Don’t be anti-social!” Snow sobbed before cradling her forehead with a grimace. 

“I have to work until Saturday. I have Sunday off and I want to spend time with my kid and my girl,” Regina blushed at Emma’s juvenile nickname for her, “Not play spin-the-bottle and braid Ruby’s hair.”

Regina leaned in to kiss Emma’s ear sensually before whispering, “Dear, if we have a girl’s night, we can spend the day with Henry then he could go spend the night with Charming.”

“So?” Emma whined. Regina gave the shell of her ear a quick lick.

“So, once the girls are gone, we have the house to ourselves.” Regina purred, her hand caressing the back of Emma’s neck.

“A girls night sounds awesome!” Emma shouted. Ruby burst out laughing.

“What a quick turn around there, Em?” Ruby pestered, “You two seem to forget, I’m a wolf. I can hear everything.”  
Emma blushed profusely when Snow asked, “What? What’s going on?”

“Oh, nothing. Just that, your daughter, Emma Swan, is a naughty girl.” Ruby hummed teasingly before bursting into breathless laughter.

“Rubes!” The wolf’s laughter tapered off, but a smile was still visible as she moved to serve Grumpy his morning whiskey. 

“Oh god, I think I’m dying.” Snow groaned, flicking her sunglasses back over her eyes as she chewed on a piece of bacon.

“Where’s Charming?” Regina questioned, sipping her depleting coffee. Snow glared before dropping her head back onto her forearms that rested on the counter.

“He slept like a damn rock last night, hasn’t woke up yet. Lucky bastard.” Emma chuckled at her parent’s misfortune. She spied a large smile from her girlfriend in her peripheral. Regina was milking up her misery.

“I don’t know why I spent decades trying to ruin your life by casting a curse when I could’ve just given you a few Kahlua’s and watched you self destruct.” Emma laughed so hard at Regina’s quip, she was sure she burst a lung. Her laugh was so contagious; other patrons began giggling and smiling without knowing what was going on. Even Snow chuckled before muttering ‘Ow’ and becoming silent. 

“Such a lightweight.” Ruby tormented as she placed Grumpy’s order then turned to take the stool next to Regina.

“Oh shut up, all of you.” Snow grumbled, waving her left hand in surrender. Emma opened her mouth to continue the jokes when Ruby gasped.

“Oh my God, she’s coming!” Ruby stood and ran behind the counter with the speed of, well, a wolf. She turned to her friends before frantically asking, “Do I look okay?”

“You look beautiful, Pup, as always.” Regina soothed. Emma felt a twinge of jealously but quickly squashed it. Regina was hers. They were in love. She wasn’t going to cheat on her or leave. Regina and Ruby were friends, best friends. Relax. Old habits die-hard but she was trying. 

“What’s going on?” Snow questioned quietly. Emma and Regina quirked their brows before leaning forward, silently wondering the same and hoping that everything was all right.

“When you called me last night, I was in the midst of meeting someone and she was gorgeous and perfect but I couldn’t leave you hanging so I left. She left a napkin with her number but I didn’t want to seem desperate by calling her so soon after our encounter. She’s coming here now! To eat! Oh God, I’m trembling!” The three women in front of the counter were stunned.   
“Pup, did you feel it?” Ruby needed no clarification so she nodded. Regina gasped before a face-splitting smile settled on the older brunette’s lips. The door of the diner opened and Hades walked in confidently, taking a seat at the booth across the room. Regina gaped, “That’s her?”

Ruby nodded, “She pretty, right?”

“Pretty? She’s sexy as hell… There’s the homosexual tendencies I was talking about.” Snow smirked at Regina, who narrowed her eyes in response. 

“That’s an ironic choice of words considering she’s the former queen of the Underworld.” Ruby let out a small insecure, nervous laugh. She wiped her sweaty palms on her apron. The women turned to her and widened their eyes.

‘Well,” Emma tilted her head, “Are you gonna go serve her?”

“Yeah, yes, I mean, she’s just a woman, right?” Ruby grabbed a menu and utensils before walking towards the booth slowly, muttering to herself, “Just a perfect woman who might be my true love. No pressure, you moron.”

Ruby could feel three pairs of eyes following her every move and turned to glare at her friends quickly before reaching the booth. Hades looked up as soon as she arrived and revealed a blinding smile.

“I see the service is a bit better today,” Hades joked shakily, “Your eyes are open at least.”

Ruby felt her anxiety melt away, realizing that the woman might be just as nervous as she was, “Give me a few minutes, I just ate lunch and food makes me practically drop dead.” 

Hades laughed huskily, “So maybe I should stick around?”

Ruby smiled, placing the menu in front of her crush, “Yeah, you definitely should.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Regina poked her cookie dough candy bar cupcakes with a toothpick and watched as the tiny, wooden tester came out clean. She pulled the tray from the oven and carefully removed each round cupcake onto a cooling rack. It was Sunday evening, girls night, and the older brunette had no idea what that entailed. She assumed it would be an adult version of a sleepover so she scoured the computer looking for ideas and tips to ‘spice up the night’. 

Cosmopolitan said to ‘Hole up in your kitchen with a friend or two and attempt to invent the next brownie-like concoction, filled with your favorite junk foods. Cookie dough candy bar cupcakes? There's no way this could turn out badly’. Regina was skeptical but she figured she had no clue what to do anyway and rolled with it. 

The sorceress saw that alcohol was a must for any girl’s night but after Snow-Gate, Regina hesitated and decided not to. She hoped that someone else would bring some so that she can drink but not get blamed by Snow for any possible indiscretions that may floated out of the pixie-haired woman’s mouth.

Regina snapped out of her thoughts in order to go over her checklist once more:

Henry picked up by Charming? Check.

Put on sexy lingerie for Emma’s pleasure after the girl’s leave? Check.

Junk Food? Check.

Ridiculous anxiety? Triple check.

Regina paced nervously. She never had friends like this. Sure, she had been friendly with Maleficent in the Enchanted Forest but they were never the type of friends that gossiped or painted each other’s nails. They schemed and plotted and had sex that one time. So, this was new for the former queen and her stomach was in knots. 

A knock sounded at the door and she practically flew to the foyer. She stood before the door and shook her arms and tilted her neck back and forth. Everyone would be in room together, playing silly games, and eating chocolate. Simple. The Evil Queen could do this. Regina swung open the door and, before she could blink, was engulfed in a fierce hug. 

“Hello, Pup.” Regina smiled, all her nerves faded. They were her friends. They loved her the way she was. No need to pretend.

“Hey, Gina!” Ruby pulled back but still held onto Regina’s left elbow lightly as she searched her bag, “I brought alcohol… oh, more alcohol… and can you guess? Some more alcohol!”

Regina smirked impishly, “This should get interesting.”

“Snow-Gate 2.0,” Ruby chuckled as they made their way into the mansion and to the study, “Where is everybody?”

“Emma called and said that Charming was making a big stink about the fact that he wasn’t invited.” Regina said as she took the bottle of vodka that Ruby handed her and placed it in the small, ice-filled cooler Regina had bought the day before. 

“Aw, Charming! He could come if he wants. I’m sure Granny could watch Henry.” 

“That’s what I told Emma but Snow refused, said she needed a night away.” Ruby sighed.

“Well, they do practically spend every second of every day together.” The wolf stated before the bell rang and Regina went to let in Emma and Snow. The three came back and Emma dropped herself onto the couch and slouched.

“Longest three hours of my life.” Emma gave Regina a meaningful look in order to communicate the real meaning behind her sentence. Every minute away from you feels like an hour. Regina felt a blush color her cheeks and she gave Emma a smoldering look. Down Regina.

“I brought something fun!” Snow announced as she whipped out several sheets of stapled paper, “I figured we could play 20 questions but the naughty version.”

Emma groaned and shook her head, “Ew, mom. And what’s with the paper?”

“Oh, these are suggestion questions but we could deviate!” Snow settled herself on the couch across from Emma and Regina, next to Ruby. 

“Fine, but can we not ask Snow any. I don’t need to hear that. Plus, I’d like to be able to look dad in the eye tomorrow.” Emma exhaled.

“I don’t think you’ll be leaving the bedroom tomorrow.” Ruby snorted. The couple had the decency to look guilty. Snow smiled.

“Oh my God, you’re having sex tonight for the first time? Oh, you have to tell me how it goes!” Snow shrieked excitedly, pouting at Emma, who looked disgusted.

“Jesus! Mom no! And Ruby, stop it!” Emma covered her face. Regina took mercy on her girlfriend.

“Are we going to play or what?” The oldest brunette asked as she poured some vodka in glasses and began handing them out.

“Okay! I have one!” Ruby shouted, “Regina, have you ever watched porn? And you can’t lie, Emma will know.”

Emma straightened and stared at Regina. Maybe this game would be interesting after all. Snow giggled and began sipping from her glass. Everyone else cringed, knowing the transition had begun. 

“One day, during the curse but after Henry, Dr. Whale called me a MILF,” Emma snorted, “I was so curious so I looked it up on the internet and I clicked on a link that said ‘Busty MILF Learns Some New Tricks’. I notice that something downloaded and I opened it. I thought it was an educational video on the subject of MILF’s.”

“It was educational alright.” Ruby teased. All three of the women listening were holding in laughs.

“Suddenly, the two older females began kissing and I was entranced so I kept watching. It was amazing to me that two women were having sex and it was being broadcasted around the world. In the Enchanted Forest, an inkling of homosexuality could get you killed,” Snow nodded in agreement, “And it was liberating for me.”

“That was the only time?” Ruby questioned seriously. Regina shook her head.

“No, I became a bit obsessed. I would watch at least one video every day until one day I almost got caught by a six year old Henry,” Snow gasped, “I stopped after that. I was afraid Henry would figure out that I was gay and shun me.”

“Holy shit.” Emma whispered. She felt bad for her girlfriend but at the same time, she was very proud that Regina was opening up to someone other than her and Ruby. She knew it had to be difficult to talk about her shortcomings with Snow in the room. 

“I know, way to start us off Gina. I don’t know how we’re gonna top that.” Ruby snatched the papers from Snow and perused through them.

“Whose next?” Ruby looked up as Emma raised her hand. She threw the sheets at Emma, who barely caught them before they hit the ground. Emma scanned quickly then grinned.

“I found one I can actually ask you, mom,” Emma cleared her throat, “Have you ever fantasized about a celebrity from this realm?”

Snow tilted her head in thought before straightening, “Yes! George Clooney!”

“So vanilla.” Regina teased as Emma took a sip from her glass, barely holding in the liquid after hearing her.

Emma passed the sheet to the brunette next to her, who placed them on her lap and rubbed her hand together as if she was formulating an evil plot, “Ruby, what’s your favorite body part on a female?”

“The ass, the rump, the backside and Gina, you have a rocking booty that’s perfect for squeezing.” Ruby winked, blowing a kiss in her direction. Emma felt her chest tighten but Regina leaned closer to her, almost as if she knew that the comment would bother her.

“Ruby,” Regina warned as she passed the sheet to Snow. Emma relaxed, feeling Regina’s hand slide up her thigh.

“Okay,” Snow drawled slowly before exhaling, “Emma, what was your first time like?”

“It’s so awkward to see those words come from your lips,” Snow shrugged as she stood to refill her glass, “You might want to ease on the alcohol, huh? Remember last night?”

“I’ll be fine. Don’t change the subject. We all answered honestly, it’s your turn now.” Snow admonished and Emma felt like a pimply teenager that stayed out past curfew. 

“Alright, alright. First time was with Neal in the backseat of the Bug.” The women scrunched up their nose.

“Was he at least good?” Ruby questioned, itching behind her knee and tucking an errant hair behind her ear. 

“Nah, it sucked. But I say that the only time that matters is the first time with the love of your life,” Emma peeked at Regina in her peripheral and smiled, embarrassed from being so sappy in front of Ruby and Snow. But, when she saw Regina’s eyes water and a smile light up her face, she knew she did good. Then she thought about it and realized that those words must have struck a cord with the brunette. Regina’s first was Leopold. And Emma knew that Regina had no control over that. But Emma knew that their first time would be the one that matters, the one that lasts in memory and heart, the one Regina would choose. 

Emma’s chest tightened with love and she continued, “It’s like the great Derek Shepherd, may he rest in peace, said ‘it was like I'd never kissed any other woman before. It was like my first kiss. The right kiss’. And he’s right. When I kissed Regina the first time, I was giddy like a school girl.”

“Oh Emma,” Regina whispered, leaning over to kiss the blonde gently, “I love you.”

“I love you too, My Queen.” The two nuzzled noses.

“You two are going to make my teeth rot.” Ruby teased but her eyes were glistening and her lips were pouting subconsciously. 

The women heard a nasally sob and turned to see Snow crying freely, hiccupping and clutching at her chest, “My baby girl is so charming! I’m so happy!”


	13. First Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smut

“So, Rubes, tell us about your queen.” Regina smirked, pouring herself some wine because she wasn’t going to get drunk tonight. She wanted to remember her and Emma’s lovemaking and it seemed that Emma was on the same wavelength because the blonde had stopped after a few sips of vodka. Regina was limiting herself to one glass of red.

“She’s amazing! I mean, she’s snarky, sexy, and she has the ability to make my knee’s collapse,” Ruby smiled broadly, “I think… and I don’t want to get ahead of myself because we haven’t even gone out on a date yet, but I think she could be it. God, for the first time ever, I sound like a silly fairytale character!”

“That’s a great thing Ruby! You’re smitten!” Snow slurred and blew her nose. Her breakdown from early was still clearly visible because of her dripping nose, red eyes, and nasally voice.

“Yeah.” Ruby blushed, bending her body inwards, creating a semi-circle with her shoulders. Regina shook her head at the scene in from of her. The two women had been best friends in the Enchanted Forest and Regina felt bad now for being the reason they were separated. The two women had changed so much; it was like they were strangers getting to know one another again. Ruby was no longer Red. Red was a small part of Ruby and it changed their dynamic drastically. For that, Regina would spend forever atoning, whether Ruby or Snow thought she needed to or not.

“When are you going out with her?” Emma asked tersely. The girls had been around awhile and it had been fun, truly, but Regina had been stroking her thigh for thirty minutes straight, or maybe not too straight. Emma was horny and her girlfriend’s hand was slowly getting closer and closer to the promise land. Ruby noticed and smirking internally.

“Friday night,” Ruby feigned a yawn, “Oh, goodness, so tired. I think I’m gonna go.”

Emma jumped up and insincerely asked, “Oh no, so soon?”

“Yeah, I know it’s only been a few hours,” Ruby smirked at the blonde knowingly, “Come on Snow. I’ll drop you off.”

“M’kay.” Snow slurred before staggering behind Ruby, who quickly reached out to steady her. Regina appeared on Snow’s other side and assisted Ruby in getting the woman into the car. They collectively plopped Snow into the passenger seat and while Ruby settled herself into the driver’s seat, Regina buckled Snow in and absent-mindedly place a tender kiss on the woman’s temple. Regina froze when she realized how the action would be perceived. Snow gasped and looked up at the older brunette, her chin quivering. When Regina looked up at her Pup, she saw a sad smile and empathy in her beautiful eyes. 

“Oh, um—“ Regina cleared her throat.

“It’s okay to love her, sweetness,” Ruby whispered, “It’s okay to love. It’s strength.”

Regina nodded, smoothed the seatbelt over Snow lovingly, and leaned in to whisper in her former stepdaughters ear, “I’m sorry for being so angry with you. I’m sorry. They say you always hurt the one’s you love most and that’s true in my case. My mother taught me that love is weakness. Therefore, you became one of my greatest weaknesses. I always wanted kids and you reminded me of the woman I was before Daniel’s death, of the woman Daniel loved. I needed that reminder gone. But all I wanted, deep, deep inside of my soul, was to be a part of a true family. And now, in a way, you’ve given me that. Thank you Snow White.”

“Oh,” Snow sobbed, tears streaming down her face, “I love you Regina! I always have and always will, no matter what you do. And I’m sorry too, for Daniel.”

Regina felt her throat tighten, “I know.”

Regina and Snow embraced, holding on tight, and releasing decades of emotion. Regina felt tears gather in her eyes but managed to hold in it. Snow, who was already a blubbering, emotional mess from before, cried openly. Her weeps were loud and her body was wracked with sobs. Regina lifted her eyes from Snow’s shoulder to look at Ruby and gasped silently when she saw her laying back in her seat, tearing streaming down her face. She was anguished. She watched the woman’s knuckles turn white on the steering wheel. Regina reached out to Ruby and the wolf immediately took the offered gesture. 

“Pup.” Regina wheezed. Ruby shook her head and wiped her tears furiously. Snow pulled back from Regina and placed her hand on the former queen’s jaw.

“Go have sex with my daughter!” Snow gently pushed Regina back and out of the car. The oldest brunette heard Ruby laughed shakily as she ran back into the house. Regina shut the front door behind her and allowed the door to take the brunt of her weight as she let out a gut-wrenching sob. She doubled over and slowly sunk to the floor. While it sounded agonizing, it was cathartic for the brunette. She finally allowed the words to exit her mouth. She finally apologized to the woman who deserved it the most and, for the first time, Regina felt like she wasn’t going to lose it all. She felt in her soul that everything would go her way this time. That she could grow old with Emma and Henry and Snow and Charming, that they could celebrate holidays together and exchange gifts, that she could finally marry for love, that she could celebrate her birthday surrounded by loved ones, that she could feel happiness and for it to last. Regina inhaled slowly and wiped at her eyes.

“Regina?” Emma whispered shakily, watching her love with wide, watery eyes. Witnessing her girlfriend break down shocked her and almost made her sob. Regina made eye contact with her and held it. Emma saw the love and shivered.

“I love you,” Regina laughed, “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

Emma smiled and shook her head in disbelief as she lowered herself next to the brunette, “I love you too, baby, so much. I never thought this was possible, this level of adoration, but here we are. I fall more in love with every breath I take. What’s going on? Why are you upset?”

“I’m not upset, honey. I’m so happy. I’ve been waiting to be here for a lifetime, in this body, for this feeling of contentment and belonging. Those were happy tears.”

Emma cupped Regina’s neck and nuzzled their noses, “What brought these happy tears on?”

“Your mother,” Emma quirked a brow, “I apologized to her and we had this moment. It was like we started over and I realized that that’s what I’ve been wanting, needing.”

Emma smiled radiantly, “Let’s go upstairs?”

Regina didn’t answer; she simply stood slowly and helped Emma to her feet. The brunette pulled the woman into a tight hug, feeling their breasts press together, and they reveled in the closeness. Emma pulled her upper body back and strung kisses from Regina’s ear to her lips. Regina moaned quietly as Emma slipped her tongue into her mouth. Emma won the battle for dominance and lead the kiss, massaging the wet muscle greedily. Regina pulled back with a sensual hiss, grinding her hips into Emma’s pelvis, pulling a groan from the blonde. 

“Upstairs,” Emma breathed heavily, “Our first time will not be on your foyer floor.” 

Regina passionately licked Emma’s upper lip before turning and jogging up the stairs with the blonde in tow. Regina turned abruptly when they reached the bedroom door and grasped Emma’s jacket by the lapels, pulling the blonde into the brunette’s body in order to kiss her fervently. 

When they separated, Regina looked into Emma’s eyes meaningfully, “Are you sure about this? I’ve had an experience, you haven’t. I don’t want you to do this if you’re—“

“Regina, do you not see how badly I want you?” Emma questioned softly, “I want you so bad it’s driving me nuts.”

Emma unbuttoned her jeans, pulling them down fanatically, stepping out of them quickly, and throwing them down the hall. She grabbed Regina’s hand and shoved it into her panties, allowing the brunette to feel how wet she was.

“Feel that, baby? It’s all for you.” Emma gasped as Regina slid her fingers over her slippery clit.

“Oh Emma,” Regina purred, pulling her fingers out of the black lace panties and sucking on them. They both moaned when Regina released her fingers with a pop, “You taste so good.”

Emma kicked open the bedroom door, backed them inside, and then kicked it closed again with the heel of her foot. The savior gripped the zipper of Regina’s dress and slowly dragged it down, caressing the smooth skin revealed inch by inch. Regina shivered, her eyes closed, and head thrown back. Emma removed the dress, her eyes skimming over every part visible, “So beautiful.”

Emma crouched, placed her hands behind Regina’s thighs, and lifted. Regina wrapped her legs around the blonde’s waist and cradled her head with her palms. Emma felt the brunette’s slick underwear leave a streak of musky essence on her taut stomach. Emma’s hands roamed to the woman’s ass and squeezed roughly, “Ruby’s right. Your ass is a fucking masterpiece.”

Regina smashed their lips together, their tongues battling before Emma dropped her unceremoniously on the large bed. Regina let out an adorable squeal and Emma giggled as she straddled her girlfriend’s thighs. They were breathless as they attempted to kiss once more but their smiles were so large, they merely bumped lips and teeth, which caused them to laugh harder. 

“I love you, baby.” Emma claimed, kissing Regina’s nose tenderly as she slid her hand behind an arched back to unclasp her bra. Regina lifted her arms, allowing Emma to gently slide the straps down her arms, dragging her fingernails and watching goose bumps develop. When the bra was fully removed, Emma stared causing Regina to wiggle under the scrutiny. 

“Emma,” She whispered. Emma bent her head and gave a pointed lick to one of her nipples. Regina arched her back, letting out a long moan, “I want to see you.”

Emma sat up and removed her jacket quickly, throwing it onto the growing pile on the floor. Regina reached forward to push up the blonde’s shirt, scraping her nails up her abs, loving the way the muscles contracted. Regina touched Emma’s breasts through the padded bra before squeezing and running her thumbs over the blonde’s nipples. Emma bucked her hips, her hands shooting forward to pull Regina’s mouth to hers. The two clashed lips, teeth, and tongue while the brunette divested them of their remaining clothing. Emma released Regina’s bottom lip with a nip and pushed Regina down using her own body, their nipples touched, sending electric tingles to their cores. 

“Please.” Regina whined as Emma sucked on her pulse point before swiping her tongue over the area. Emma moaned deeply, making her way lower, kissing her the area above her heart. 

“Regina, I don’t know what I’m doing.” Emma nuzzled into Regina’s neck, inhaling her perfume. Regina stroked her blonde curls fondly. 

“Let me show you.” Regina pushed on the blonde’s shoulders lightly, switching their positions. Once settled, Regina placed several languid kisses to Emma’s placid lips, her hands stimulating the woman’s pink nipples by pulling and pinching gently. Emma whimpered, her legs lifting of their own volition and wrapping around the brunette’s hips and pulling their lower bodies together. Both women groaned when their pussies met hotly, their clits bumping roughly. 

“Regina!” Emma wailed, “Oh yes!”

Regina placed her hands on Emma’s inner thighs and pushed them apart so that their cores aligned perfectly. Regina then began thrusting, causing their clits to rubbed repeatedly. They felt heat rising between their hips. The room was filled with whimpers, moans, and cries of passion. When Regina gained speed, Emma’s bucking became desperate.

“Oh fuck.” Regina howled loudly as they both climbed higher and higher and higher. Regina gripped Emma’s left hand from her back and placed it in her breast, silently begging for more. Emma complied, pinching roughly, and Regina moaned so loud, Emma was sure the neighbors were spooked. Not that she had the mind to care. In fact, Emma’s mind was mush at that moment. 

The bed shook from their movement, hitting the wall at a constant rhythm. But the sound of their wet flesh gliding and smacking against each other zealously drowned out everything else and Emma knew that that sound would be forever engrained in her mushed mind. It was coming; she could feel the tension in her belly building.

“Oh God! Oh God! Regina!” Emma shouted, “I’m gonna come!”

“Come with me, my love!” Regina leaned her forehead against Emma’s, their lips just laying on each other’s. A few moments later, almost at the same exact second, the lover’s thrusts became frantic before they arched and screamed each other’s names. They rode out their lengthy orgasms before collapsing breathlessly, their heated bodies aligned as they tried to catch their breath. Emma wrapped her arms around Regina amorously and she felt tears prickle her emerald eyes. She bit down hard on her tongue, hoping the pain would drown out the emotion.

The scent of their lovemaking filled her nostrils and she allowed tears to fall because, she realized, that this was supposed to be emotional. She just had mind-blowing sex with the love of her life. Regina lifted herself and froze when she saw the conflicting visuals of tears and a smile.

“I’m sorry. I’m just so… Regina… I love you.” Emma stuttered happily. Regina smiled and placed a comforting kiss on her lover’s lips. 

“I love you too,” Regina stroked her hair, “Ready for round two?”

“Oh hell yes.” Emma sighed.


	14. Tension and Release

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smut... Hook being an ass... WARNING: Threats of rape

"Ready for round two, three, four, and five?"

"Oh hell yes." Emma moaned, ready to gain experience. Emma stroked Regina’s toned, tan abdomen before Regina moved off of her gracefully. The brunette placed herself next to her lover, fluffing the pillow behind her with a two punches to the center. 

“Come here,” Regina patted the bed above her shoulders, “Straddle my face.”

“Holy shit!” Emma gasped as she quickly complied, her musk filling Regina’s nose. Regina kissed each inner thigh gently before nipping causing Emma to let out a whimper. She was already so wet for the other woman and she had just come minutes ago. Regina licked a lengthy line from mid-thigh to her labia then pulled one of the southern lips into her mouth and sucked rigorously, causing a whine to escape from Emma’s mouth.

Regina placed her hands on Emma’s hips and pulled the woman down in order to shorten the distance between Emma’s pussy and her eager mouth. Regina ran her nose through the slippery folds, inhaling deeply, and coating her face with the blonde’s juices. Emma was already writhing above her, grabbing the headboard with both hands. 

The brunette leaned back to make eye contact with Emma, silently asking if the blonde was ready. Emma nodded enthusiastically, “Gina, if you stop now, I’ll hurt you.”

Regina chuckled huskily, “As you wish, dear.”

She bent her neck and gave three long, slow strokes, back and forth, from the clit to her slick opening. Emma’s body fell forward, the breasts pressed against the headboard, the cold wood stimulating her already sensitive nipples, “Son of a bitch! I should’ve charmed you a long time ago.”

The comment got a sharp slap delivered to her left ass cheek, the sting making her moan. Regina glared lightheartedly from underneath her and Emma gave a combination of a moan and chuckle as Regina took her hidden pearl into her mouth and sucked hard, almost painfully. Emma erratically bucked, as her breaths became stunted puffs. Regina released her clit with a pop before flicking it repeatedly with the tip of her tongue. Emma reached down, tired of the headboard, and grabbed a fistful of chestnut locks. She felt Regina moan against her wet flesh, sending vibrations everywhere.

“Oh God, Gina. Yes, yes, yes,” Emma chanted. Regina’s right hand journeyed from its position on Emma’s hip to circle the clit roughly. Emma doubled over in pleasure allowing her see Regina’s face as she backed away for a second, letting her fingers stimulate her clit with strokes that were gaining speed. Emma groaned when she saw Regina swipe her tongue across her lips, gathering more essence, before biting on her bottom lip, “You are so fucking sexy.”

Regina moved back into position and probed the folds with her tongue as her fingers moved viciously again the blonde’s clit, constantly switching her speeds, motions, and patterns in order to keep Emma on her toes. Emma practically came when she felt Regina insert her tongue into Emma’s pussy, curling to stroke the rough patch on her inner wall, “Mother of God!”

“Fuck yourself on my tongue, baby.” Regina ordered. Emma felt a gush of wetness when she heard those words come out of the prim and proper mayor. Emma began moving up and down with Regina’s guidance, effectively impaling herself on the brunette’s long, strong wet appendage repeatedly. On every downward movement, Regina would curl her tongue and hit that spot. Emma was chanting nonsensical curses as her movements became erratic. Regina reached up with her free hand to pinch Emma’s pink nipple and pressed her thumb down on the clit with precision. 

The scream that came from Emma made Regina shiver and probably roused everyone in a five-mile radius.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hook was seated on a stool at the dimly lit bar, sipping on rum and chewing on stale peanuts. His eyeliner was smudged and his leathers were crumpled. Basically, he looked like a loser. Quasimodo walked up to him cautiously, ready for Killian to shout at him.

“Sir, would you like a refill?” Quasimodo nervously asked, keeping his distance. The last time he asked the question, a handful of hard peanuts were thrown in his face. The bartender was positive that one scratched his cornea.

“What do you think, you imbecile?” Killian glared at the overweight man behind the bar. Quasimodo shrugged, lifting his arms up in surrender, before walking away to get the pirate another glass of straight rum. Killian sighed disdainfully.

“Hello Mister Quasi! Some whiskey would be appreciated greatly, good man!” Killian looked up from his empty glass and glared at the man that just arrived. Robin Hood. The thief saw Hook slouched on a stool, glaring at him, and he bravely walked over, “Killian.”

“Hood.” Killian drawled scornfully. Robin cleared his throat before plopping himself near Killian but far enough to avoid his wrath. Quasimodo returned with both drinks. He slid Killians from a few feet away to avoid confrontation and handed Robin his, giving him a grateful smile.

“So, how have you been Robin?” Quasimodo questioned as he dried glasses.

“I’ve been good—“ Robin was interrupted by a dark chuckle from his left. Quasimodo backed away nervously.

“You’ve been good? You caused your bitch to switch teams and she took mine with her,” Hook sneered, “What was it Hood? Couldn’t satisfy her correctly? You didn’t give it to her right?”

“Watch your filthy mouth! Regina and I may not be lovers but we’re friends and I will not tolerate this slander!” Robin exclaimed dangerously, “And Emma and Regina love one another.”

Hook scoffed, “Negative mate. Emma will realize that she could never that queer and she’ll come running back.”

“Is why you’re drowning yourself in rum and look like you were dragged through a fiery hell?” Robin questioned sarcastically, “They’re happy. It’s time for you to accept that and move on.”

“I know just what I need to do,” Hook narrowed his eyes menacingly and chuckled ominously, “Maybe I need to show Regina what it’s like to be with a real man. She’ll fight me at first but she’ll take it and she’ll scream for me.”

Robin grabbed Hook by his jacket lapels and brought the pirate’s face forward aggressively, “Touch either of them and I’ll kill you.”

“No you won’t. You’re a hero.” Killian pushed him away, causing Robin to smash his back into the wood paneling on the wall. Robin recovered quickly and stood toe-to-toe with the villain.

“Other’s may consider me a hero but I’m a thief, a common criminal,” Hood whispered angrily, “If you hurt those I care for, I’ll break every bone in your body.”

“I dare you,” Hook sneered. They stared at one another for a moment before the pirate laughed condescendingly, “Tell me thief, so I don’t go in blind, how does the queen like to be taken?”

Robin instinctively grabbed Hook’s neck and squeezed. Hook began wiggling, trying to break the hold. The thief shook him roughly, “Don’t you touch her!”

“Hey! Stop!” Gaston, dressed head-to-toe in 1990’s outdated fashion, pushed on their chests, effectively breaking their contact, “Relax!”

“Hey Tupac, stay the hell out of my business!” Hook yelled at Gaston, who simply pushed him again. 

“So you know who Tupac is but you have no clue what consent is?” Robin mocked as he threw a few bills on the bar top and stalked out of The Rabbit Hole. He quickly sent Regina a message, warning her of Hook’s threats, in hopes that she would be more careful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wow, I didn’t know my body could do that,” Emma sighed breathlessly as the two lovers finished another bout of lovemaking, “I should’ve switched teams a long time ago.”

Regina chuckled cheerfully, “I can actually say the same.”

Emma rolled onto her side to face the glistening brunette, “Where did you learn all of that? Porn?”

“Some,” Regina pulled Emma closer, “I learned most of it from my one night with Maleficent.”

Emma shot up and looked down at her girlfriend with a lifted brow, “You… and Maleficent?”

“Don’t be jealous, baby. It was about thirty years ago.” Regina stroked Emma’s hair lovingly, leading her body back down into her embrace. 

“And when she came back to life?” Emma questioned as she settled back into her lover’s arms.

“No, no. She and I have changed dramatically. Plus, she and I always had a love-hate relationship and I thought she was going to kill me when she came back. After all, I locked in the library basement and sent people down there to antagonize her. Not that she matters now, I have you and I love you.” Emma sighed softly and was about to nuzzle into Regina’s bosom when a vibration came from the side table.

“Tell me it’s something naughty in your dresser drawer.” Emma joked and Regina pushed her away playfully. 

“It’s my phone. I got a text from Robin.” Regina sat up straight.

“At 1:00 in the morning?” Emma fumed. Regina lifted a hand to silence her as she read.

“Emma.” Regina whispered unevenly. The blonde shot up, glancing at the phone to see a large message bubble.

“What’s going on, Regina? You’re making me nervous.” Emma placed her hand on Regina’s back and rubbed in a circular motion.

“Robin was at the bar and he saw Hook—“ Emma snorted.

“And that’s surprising why?” Emma chuckled but immediately froze when Regina turned to face her and the chestnut eyes held fear. Emma stiffened, “Regina?”

“Robin said things got heated between them and that Hook threatened to rape me several times.” Emma paled.

“That bastard is gonna lose another hand.”


	15. Vile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hook being gross. WARNING: attempted rape.

“Emma! Come back to bed please!” Regina called out to her lover, who was racing around the room gathering her clothes, “Baby, we can deal with this in the morning.”

“No! He can’t threaten you like that! Rape, Regina! He threatened to rape you!” Emma yelled, her voice reverberating off the walls. Regina cringed and let out a sigh. Rape was the worst thing imaginable to the brunette because she had survived years of it with the King. He would barge into her bedchambers whenever he wanted and forced her to have sex with him. She wasn’t allowed to say no. In the beginning of their marriage, Regina fought back by kicking his groin or pushing him but the young queen soon learned that that only made things worse because the rejection made him angry. So, Robin’s message shocked her and caused bile to rise. However, after calming down, she realized that Hook was most likely all bark and no bite. 

But Emma couldn’t be soothed, “I’m going to rip him limb from limb.”

“Honey, I’m begging you to stop,” Emma dropped the clothes that was hanging from her fingers irritably, “He wouldn’t dare try anything. He’s scared of me, dear. He was trying to rile Robin up, that’s all.”

“I can’t let him think that he can get away with this. He can’t,” Emma’s eyes glistened and her throat constricted, “Gina, he used your biggest fear against you and I cannot bear that. Not for a fucking second!”

“I know but we can talk to him tomorrow.” Regina whispered. The brunette patted the bed and Emma made her way to her lover.

“I love you,” Emma cradled Regina’s face and placed a tender kiss on her suspecting lips, “I need to know that you’re okay when I’m not around.”

“My mother had a set of necklaces that would send a warning signal from one wearer to another when distress was imminent. If I went to the vault and got them, would that settle you?” Emma sighed and nodded, wrapping her arms around her tightly, seemingly afraid that she would vanish. Regina pulled Emma back onto the bed. 

“We should talk to Robin and hear the full story before we do anything.” Emma surmised quietly as she wrapped her arms around Regina’s waist, pulling the brunette’s front against her own. The blonde rested her temple against her lover’s forehead and inhaled the scent of apples. The warmth of their embrace sent them to a peaceful sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hook was nowhere to be found. He didn’t go back to the bar after that night, his ship was missing from the docks, and citizens hadn’t spotted him. Emma, though, could feel his presence and his eyes on her, that leer that could chill her bones. Regina tried to sooth her fears, telling the savior that perhaps she was being paranoid. When Emma insisted that something wasn’t right, Regina relented, saying she trusted Emma’s gut. 

So, when Emma forced her into the Bug two days after Robin’s message, Regina went along with it, no questions asked. The blonde drove them to the cemetery and helped Regina filter through Cora’s things, finding the necklaces after an hour of search. Emma even requested that Ruby keep one of Regina’s pillowcases so that if she was kidnapped, Ruby could sniff her out easily. 

Emma coordinated with Robin and his crew, ordering them to watch over the surrounding forest for a soon-to-be-skinned Captain Hook. Robin agreed readily. Apparently, he was taking the threats just as seriously Emma. 

Regina also noticed that she was almost never alone. At the mayor’s office, Snow suddenly volunteered to be her personal assistant, which was strange considering that the young brunette had told Regina that she was planning to go back to teaching that same week. The older brunette narrowed her eyes at Snow, who just shrugged, and Regina knew this was Emma’s little scheme, as if Snow White could protect her from a lethal pirate. Honestly, Regina didn’t want Snow anywhere near this disgusting situation as she didn’t want the young woman to get hurt in the cross hairs. But Snow never left her side during work hours. They even went to the bathroom together.

Then there was Ruby, who wanted to hang out after her shift but only when Emma worked late. Then there was Henry, who asked her for riding lessons at the crowded stables. The timing of the lessons suspiciously corresponded with the time frame between the end of the workday and Ruby or Emma’s arrival. Finally, at night, Emma always arrived right at 10:00 pm, her usual bedtime and they slept in the same bed. 

Regina felt like a convict. All she needed was an ankle bracelet and she wasn’t going to joke about that with Emma because she might come home with the device and strap it on during the night. 

While it annoyed her a bit, it also warmed her heart. So many people were willing to clear their schedules to watch over her because they cared. She mattered to them. She mattered.

So, here she was, in a bathroom stall, hiding from Snow. She needed a breather from everyone, some alone time. She heard Snow screeching down the hallway outside the bathroom, questioning her secretary about her whereabouts. Regina smiled before whipping out her phone and playing Solitaire.  
“Come on!” Regina whispered to herself, hoping for an ace. She jumped happily when she got her wish. She managed to get it done in less than three minutes, garnering the high score. Take that Henry! 

Regina craned her neck and sighed. She felt the walls closing in the longer she stayed in the stall and wanted out but she also wanted to be alone and get fresh air. She plotted her escape as she heard Snow running towards the bathroom. Regina quickly transported before a frantic Snow opened the door. She appeared in the woods, by the well, and lowered herself on the steps of the well. She inhaled deeply, taking in the crisp air and silence. 

She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and she could practically feel Emma’s panic through the device. She didn’t want Emma to worry so she swiftly answered.

“Where the hell are you?” Emma screeched. Regina pulled the phone away from her ear until Emma finished.

“Emma, I needed some space. I don’t need a babysitter at all hours of the day.” Regina sighed. 

“And you couldn’t have gotten that space at park with Henry?” Emma questioned nervously, her voice sounded constricted. 

“Honey, please don’t cry.” Regina closed her eyes tightly, feeling guilty for making her love upset.

“I’m just so worried, baby. I need to protect you. I can’t lose you.” Emma released a shaky breath.

“I’m sorry,” Regina sighed, “It was selfish of me to just disappear like that.”

“It’s okay, just please come to the station. I need to see you.” Emma pleaded. 

“I’ll be right there. Give me five minutes, okay?” Emma agreed and Regina groaned as she ended the call. She felt bad for her rash disappearance. She could see Emma in her mind, pacing in her office, panicking about her. And Snow was probably having a coronary. Regina crossed her arms over her knees. She wondered for how long she would need to appease Emma until her love realized that Hook probably sailed away like a coward. The man was most likely in Neverland, terrorizing children again, smelling like fish, and drinking rum like no tomorrow. Regina was convinced that Robin scared Killian off.

Or so she thought until now.

“Well, well, well,” Regina shivered when she felt his alcohol scented breath on the back of her neck, “I’ve been waiting to get you alone for a week now, my Queen.”

“Hook, get away from me.” Regina felt her magic coming to the forefront, tingling her fingertips.

Hook grabbed her arm roughly and snapped on a brown, thick leather wristband. He felt her magic deplete as the wristband stifled her magic, rendering her defenseless. Killian leaned forward, awkwardly sniffing her neck before placing a slobbery kiss on her pulse point. Regina squirmed, attempting to get out of his tight hold.

“My Queen, when I first saw you in that blue, velvet dress. I wanted to take you on the floor of that dungeon, right in from of the crocodile’s comatose bitch,” Hook ran his hands over her the tops of her thighs and Regina violently pushed against him, trying to push him onto his backside, “I always thought you were so sexy but I fell for Swan. Well, I’m single now and I don’t give a damn about your newfound preference in women. I don’t blame you. Women are such sensual creatures. Unfortunately for you, you don’t have a choice in this encounter.”

Hook shoved Regina forward as she screamed, “No! Stop! Help!”

Killian began unbuttoning her pants and Regina placed a swift elbow to his groin. He doubled over in pain and she took her chance, running forward. She didn’t make it far as she collided with a flash of blonde. 

“Regina!” Emma. The brunette hugged the blonde tightly and Emma felt something strange against her tummy. Emma pulled back and looked down wide-eyed when she noticed that her lover’s pants were unbuttoned. Emma felt white-hot anger burn in her chest.

“Where is he?” Emma growled against Regina’s lips. The former queen tilted her head towards the well but before Emma could charge in, Hook ran into the clearing in hopes of snatching the brunette. Before Hook could recognize the trouble, he was lifted into the air and began gasping for air, his legs and arms swinging fitfully. 

“Emma!” Regina yelled, watching her love strangle the pirate. She ran forward, wrestling for Emma’s arm in an attempt to stop her from doing something the savior would regret, “Put him down, please. Please, I don’t want you to do this. You’re too good for him. He’s not worth it!”

“But you are,” Emma growled as she watched Hook’s face turn red and his breaths becoming desperate, “You’ll always be looking over your shoulder as long as he lives. You just got that back and he has no right to ruin this for you, for us.”

“Emma, you are good. You don’t want to do this and I don’t want you to do it. If you killed him, I would forever feel guilty for allowing you to do this.”

Emma immediately released Hook and he fell into the ground violently but she ran to his side without allowing him time to recover and cuffed his hands behind his back. She transported him using her magic into a cell at the station. Regina finally released her breath in relief. Regina silently became emotional.

“I’m sorry.” Emma whispered sadly as she buttoned her love’s pants. Emma shook her head, scuffing her shoes on the twigs on the floor. Regina placed her index finger under Emma’s chin, tilting her head upward so that the blonde could see the sincerity in her chocolate eyes.

“You were protecting me. I can never fault you for caring. But I never want you to give in to the darkness, alright? We work because your light and I’m dark. We balance each other out and I can’t watch you spiral. No one was there to stop me but I’m here to tell you that I’ll always be right here, repelling the dark. Never give in, Emma. Never. Not even if something happens to me, you stay on the good path, for Henry, for me, and for your parents. You hear me?”

Emma nodded jerkily, her lips quivering, “I’m sorry. I let my anger control me. That fucking bastard touched you. No one touches you but me.”

Regina pulled Emma into a tight embrace and kissed her passionately. The lovers held each other, never wanting to let go.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina confesses to an old crime (WARNING: Mention's of rape)

By the time Regina and Emma traversed to the Sheriff’s station, it was brimming with family, friends, and citizens. The two women gathered after a few moments that everyone was taunting and mocking the pirate.

“Hey! Can’t get women with your charms so you get them will chloroform?” Grumpy shouted angrily, pounding against Hook’s cell furiously.

“You’re piece of scum and that’s coming from me!” Dr. Whale growled, reaching it hand into the cell but Hook was cowering in the corner. 

“Tupac was an icon!” Gaston bellowed, patting his chest proudly. 

“You hurt the Queen, we have your head on a platter!” Little John barked, causing all the citizens to nod in agreement. Regina and Emma watched from down the hall with affection. Years ago some of those men rode up to Regina’s door and begged for justice to be done, to kill her. Now, they protected her. Now, they were threatening someone that had hurt her. A screech sounded from further inside the station and the two women cringed when they saw Snow bounding towards them like a jungle cat.

“Regina!” The mother of two ran into the older brunette so hard that they went flying into the wall behind them, leaving a Regina sized dent in the drywall.

“Snow!” Charming squealed in a high pitch vibrato, his embarrassment evident on his face. 

“You’re okay! Oh my heart is racing!” Snow squeezed harder on the woman’s mid-section, causing Regina to grunt, “I thought something had happened when you guys weren’t around to book Hook!”

“Something’s about to happen if you don’t let go.” Emma murmured comically, confused by her mother’s actions. She knew the two women buried the hatchet but this was excessive worry. To Emma’s surprise, Regina wrapped an arm around her mother’s shoulders and cradled the back of her head lovingly. 

“I’m fine Snow,” Regina chuckled lightly, “Now, let me go before I vomit down your back.”

“Oh my God, are you okay?” Snow questioned as she disengaged from her former stepmothers body. Regina nodded jerkily, placing a hand on her tummy.

“Yes, I suppose the adrenaline has diminished and now I’m a ball of nerves. I’m going to the restroom,” When Emma moved to follow, Regina placed a gentle hand on her chest, “I’m fine. Figure out what you’re going to do with him and call Rumple.”

“Why?” Charming sounded concerned and Regina smiled. The brunette lifted her arm to show them the magic-sucking wristband. 

“Is that—“ Snow placed a soothing hand on Regina’s back.

“Yes. It’s exactly like the one he helped Greg and Tamara restrain me with. As far as I know, The Blue Fairy is was the only one in possession of this because she took it off of me the first time.” Regina answered, swallowing the beginnings of bile and shaking her head.

“You think Blue gave him the wristband knowing what he would do with it.” Emma piped up, her face contorting angrily. 

“It’s a possibility,” Regina drawled slowly, “Blue wouldn’t mind seeing me hurt but let’s not throw around accusations yet. Get Rumple. I want my magic back.”

Before anyone could speak further, the older brunette sprinted to the restrooms. Emma started to follow her but Charming grabbed her arm. When she glared at him, he lifted his brows and whispered, “She wants to be alone for a second. Let her have a moment.”

“She’s scared! I can’t let her be alone when she’s probably having a meltdown.” Emma whispered roughly, yanking her arm out of her father’s grip. Snow stepped forward, placing herself between her husband and daughter.

“Give her a minute. Once that minute is up, you can run in there on your white stallion and comfort her. She wants a second to breath.” Snow pacified her daughter. Emma’s shoulders slumped, knowing her mother was right. 

“Come here pirate! I’m gonna anchor your ass to a grave!” The Charming’s turned to see Killian swiping at the bars with his hook.

“Back! Back or I’ll swipe at your entrails!” Hook roared, his metallic appendage colliding with the bars and chipping the green paint. 

“Hey! You stand the fuck down before I rip off your dick!” Emma snarled from across the room, the anger palpable, causing everyone to quiet down. Emma stalked towards the cell, men and women parting to allow her through, “You shut the hell up and take it. I’m sure you’ve employed that tactic on victims before so you understand.”

“Swan, I don’t understand why you’re angry at me when your queen is exactly like me,” Emma furrowed her eyebrows and everyone froze, “The Huntsman. Your former man, she forced him into her bed. I was simply doing this for you, revenge on your behalf. You should be thanking me quite frankly.” 

Emma felt her stomach drop, her voice breaking, “What?”

“Oh, you didn’t know that, mate? Yes, your beloved raped the Huntsman,” Hook chuckled cynically, “Let’s see if you love her when she confirms my words. In my experience, you’re pretty flaky, love.”

Emma glared at the man, her stomaching turning, “I love her.”

“You know she killed him too,” Killian whispered darkly and Emma stiffened, “He had his heart and she crushed it. Aye, mate, I did my research before coming out of hiding.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Regina finally wiped at her mouth after minutes of retching and sat on the floor of the grimy restroom, not caring about bacteria or germs at that moment. She felt disgusting. Not because of what had almost happened to her in the woods but because she was thinking back to Graham. Regina cringed simply at the memories. She hurt the kind man the way she was hurt and it turned her stomach.

Honestly, Regina thought about Graham often. She thought about his life, death, and his time with Emma. Regina and Graham’s relationship started off horribly, with him being her pet, but in Storybrooke, especially after Henry, the brunette never called for him. He just came to her, asking to be with her. She thought he loved her for a while but Emma crushed that delusion. She regretted what she did to him from the moment she watched his heart crumble in her hand. If she could go back in time, she would have never done it. Then again, if she went back and could keep Henry no matter what, she would have done everything differently. 

Sometimes, when Graham entered her mind, she would run to the vault and search for ways to resurrect. In fact, she talked to Rumple about his resurrection of Maleficent and he gave her the steps in exchange for help if he ever needed it. That was a debt she was worried about paying but the information was worth the future trouble. She wanted to go through with it but in order to do so; she would have to tell everyone. She was terrified.

A short while ago, she felt like her life was finally how it was supposed be and that nothing could take it away but now she knew that this would ruin everything. If Emma or Ruby found out, they would never even blink in her direction again. 

“I have to.” Regina whispered in the empty room. Emma needed to know everything, even the darkest parts of her. If she couldn’t handle it, being with her knowing the extent of her crimes, Regina would let her go without a fight. She was done with manipulation and forcing people to love her. That Regina, the rapist and killer, was gone. She was a part of her past but not her present. Regina felt her throat constrict with sadness as a sob bubbled from her lungs forcefully. 

“Oh God.” Regina wrapped her arms around her knees and burrowed her head into her thighs. The restroom door opened slowly and the trembling brunette saw a flash of blonde. Regina screwed her eyes shut, her body tensing. Regina lifted her head and made eye contact with Emma, who was cryptically quiet, her face blank. 

“I’m was a monster.” Regina whispered before thrusting her head back to collide with the tiled wall violently. 

“Yeah.” Emma answered scornfully. Regina froze. Here it comes. The brunette watched as Emma sighed before her features softened, “You were.”

“I raped Graham,” Regina’s voice faltered and she sucked in a large breath, “I violated him the way I was violated by the King. How could I do that? How could I do that to a good man? I knew how much that screwed with my life, the damage that that kind of debasement could do and I did it anyway.”

Emma walked towards the woman and bent down to catch her eyes, “Regina—“

“And then I killed him,” Regina sobbed, covering the area above her mouth with a shaky hand, “I killed him because he was remembering his past life and I was so consumed with revenge that I killed him. I crushed his heart. Oh God, I was a monster.”

“Regina—“ Emma eyes watered.

“I regret everything so much. I regret hurting Graham, hurting your parents, hurting Henry, and hurting you. But I can fix it, Emma, I can bring Graham back to life and you can be with him if you want. I’ll be heartbroken but if you’re happy then I’m happy.”

“Regina—“ Emma’s eyes widened. She stepped into the restroom ready for a fight but she got a remorseful confession and the savior was befuddled.

“I asked Rumple about resurrection and he gave me instructions. I can make everything right for Graham and you. I’m sorry and I’ll understand if you’re utterly disgusted by me.” Regina leaned away from the wall before slamming herself back against it brutally and repeated until Emma grabbed Regina’s shoulders. 

“Regina, I love you,” Emma cried, tears hanging off of her eyelashes, and the brunette looked up hopefully, “But I need to process this, okay?”

Regina shut her eyes and brought her hands to hide her features, “Emma, don’t drag this out.”

“I—“ Regina shook her head.

“You don’t need to sugarcoat anything,” Regina hiccupped, “I know my actions were incomprehensible. Don’t give me false hope. Please.” 

Silence filled the space and Regina lowered her head under her crossed arms, hiding her sadness. She heard Emma sigh and felt the blonde retreat. Regina held in a sob, she didn’t want to make Emma feel guilty for breaking it off. 

“Regina, I just need a day or two to process.” Then she heard the bathroom door open and close with a soft thud. She broke down, trying to contain the volume of her cries. She was so consumed that she didn’t hear someone, or two someone’s to be specific, enter. 

“Oh, sweetness,” Ruby ripped some napkins from the dispenser and ran to her side, “It’ll be okay.”

“No, it won’t. It’s happening. I convinced myself that I could have it all but I’m a fool,” Regina didn’t resist when Ruby pulled her into a tight embrace, “You know what I did?”

“Yeah,” Ruby cradled Regina face, her thumbs wiping away tears, “But that was the old you. The Evil Queen did those things, not Regina. Not my best friend. Not the woman that brightens my day and makes me feel important. You didn’t do that. Emma needs time to come and she’ll realize it too, okay?”

“She’s right, Regina,” The brunette’s head shot up to see a teary-eyed Snow, who was sitting next to her now, “She loves you and she’ll realize what we already know.”

Snow leaned in and kissed Regina’s wet cheek before placing her hand on the woman’s head and pulling it to rest on the pixie-haired woman’s chest. Regina smiled shyly despite the situation and looked at Ruby, who was wiping her face lovingly with the brown paper towel, gratefully. 

“You’ve changed and she’ll come around. Until then, we won’t leave your side. Right, Ruby?” Snow nuzzled her cheek into Regina’s hair and peered at the wolf, who nodded intensely. Regina’s tears dried but she let out sad puffs of breath involuntarily. 

“Thank you.” Regina whispered as she borrowed into Snow even further. Ruby plopped down on the older brunette’s unoccupied side and snuggled, curling her arms around Regina. Henry would love this scene, saying that it represented her redemption perfectly. Regina froze, “Henry?”

Ruby lifted her head and whispered, “He’s right outside that door, probably eavesdropping. He’s worried about you, you know? He has the same opinion as us.”

Regina sighed with relief and her slackened. Ruby lowered her head back onto the former queens shoulder.

Ruby felt a depression fall over her. She had a girlfriend that complimented her perfectly and makes her feel awesome but if Regina was upset, she was upset. Emma Swan needed to get her mind made up because Ruby wasn’t going to wait for her to ‘think’ for long. If she strings Regina along for longer than a few days, Emma would have a vicious wolf on her blonde tail. And, unlike Regina, it wouldn’t be pretty.


	17. Distance and Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma screws up

A day or two became a month. Twenty-eight days of Emma avoiding Regina, who already accepted that the relationship was over even though it hadn’t been declared. Emma kept communication to a minimum and it usually was about Henry. After a week, Regina stopped trying, figuring that she would let Emma come to her. But she never and each moment without the blonde killed a bit of her soul. Henry tried spending more time at the mansion. He had been upset with Emma, who wasn’t talking about the situation at all. 

Snow and Charming attempted to act as if nothing was wrong. They made breakfast, smiled, joked, and talked about everything but Regina. Emma knew it was a façade. They talked to the brunette everyday when they paid Regina daily visits. It was an unspoken rule that no one mentioned the brunette to the blonde.

Ruby, though, glared every morning and refused to serve her unless Granny wasn’t around. When she did serve Emma, she purposely screwed up the order, going as far to put salt in her coffee and forgo the cinnamon on her hot chocolate. She wasn’t the only one that didn’t seem happy with the savior. The entire town was tense around her. 

Emma could feel their stares, their questions. What’re you doing? What’s going on? Why haven’t you talked to Regina?

Emma was asking herself the same questions. Honestly, she forgave Regina three days after finding out because she came to the realization that Regina wasn’t like that anymore but couldn’t bring herself to talk to the brunette. It was like she was afraid that their relationship would feel different. She was scared to face the brunette and the longer the separation got, the greater her fear got. It was a sick cycle. 

Then there was Hook, who took such pleasure in watching Emma deteriorate. He knew the damage he did and he loved it. It made her want to punch his pretty face. 

So, the separation grew and Emma felt herself slip into a depression that could easily be fixed by going over to Mifflin and apologizing for stringing it out. They would talk. Regina would show remorse and apologize profusely. Emma would apologize for torturing her with the silent treatment and ignoring her. They’d kiss and have amazing sex. It should be simple.

But it wasn’t because Emma was scared and a terrified Emma is an Emma that runs. It was funny because she had never been so fearful, yet she couldn’t leave and not just because of Henry. Everyday, Emma would pass by the mansion in an attempt to catch a glance at the brunette. Weirdly enough, the mansion was always dark. Henry started spending all his time in the loft, locked in his room. Sometimes, Emma would hear him talking quietly and she heard him say ‘mom’. So, the blonde knew Regina was talking to her son so where was she? It made Emma’s stomach churn to not know Regina’s whereabouts. What if she got hurt? What if someone hurt her? She geared up to ask her parents questions about the brunette that she missed dearly. Was Regina just as miserable as her?

She got her answer on the twenty-seventh day of separation. She got home late from the station because they finally came up with a solution for the Hook issue. He would be placed under the library and Rumple would place strict blood magic barriers that would make it impossible to break out. He would suffer a lonely existence. So, when she got home at 12:20 am and saw her bedroom lamps on, she snuck in quietly to eavesdrop, hoping to catch a tidbit of information on her love.

“I have to go to her,” Snow whispered as she shuffled around the room, “I’ll take the Snow Queen’s scroll and I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Snow,” Charming sighed, “She left town in order to get away from the Emma… situation. It was a minor car accident. She called us herself and said all she needed was stitches on her leg.”

Emma eyes widened with worry as Snow responded, “David, she’s feeling lost! She needs to come home so we can care for her. Henry is worried. He told me that Regina was sounding strange, talking about how this life would never go her way and that maybe the next one would be better. She stopped checking in with Ruby and me. She’s scaring me!” 

“I understand that but are we really going to drive all the way to New York at this time? She’s fine! We can go tomorrow. We’ll tell Emma that you’ve been wanting to see more of this realm.” Charming stated calmly but Snow continued packing. Emma froze. Regina was in New York, depressed and lonely. Emma felt a ball form in her throat, the guilty seizing her lungs. Her baby was alone in an unforgiving city because she couldn’t handle seeing Emma ignore her at the diner, decline her phone calls, and pretend to not see her when Regina waved. Emma covered mouth as tears began streaming down her face.

“You don’t have to do anything David but I’m going now!” Snow picked up her small suitcase and began her trek to the door, only to be shocked with the sight of Emma on the floor, sobbing, “Emma!”

Charming ran to his daughter and bent down to her level, “Emma?”

“Where is she?” Emma screeched, “I need to see her. I can’t do this anymore! I can’t live without her any longer!” 

“Emma—“ Snow sighed disapprovingly.

“No! Please just tell me where she is in New York. Please.” Charming looked at his wife, who succinctly nodded.

“She’s staying in Neal’s old apartment.” Charming slumped against his wife’s side, who stared at Emma with a pleading look, practically asking her to make things right with her dark eyes.

Emma broke several traffic laws.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma was seated on the messy bed in Neal’s apartment, chewing on her fingernails and bouncing her leg incessantly. Regina wasn’t in the apartment when Emma arrived at 7:03 am. Emma had broken in using an old trick she learned from Henry’s father. The apartment was basically the same as they had left it when they warned Robin about Zelena. Anyone would have though the place was abandoned but Emma could smell Regina’s perfume in the air and it brought tears to her eyes. She missed Regina so much. She just wanted to hug her, kiss her, and make love to her. 

Emma heard footsteps approaching the door and she hid in the bathroom of to the side when she heard more than voice, preparing for a break-in, which was ironic because she had been the one breaking in not fifteen minutes before. Emma heard the door swing open slowly.

“Use the crutches!” She heard a female admonish. She pressed her back against the tilted bathroom wall.

“I am, Jen.” Emma shivered with delight when she heard Regina’s husky tone.

“I could stay and help you out. I’m not really needed at work anyway. I could call in sick.” The woman, Jen, said softly. Emma could see the bedroom from behind the bathroom door, through the crack on the left side. She watched Regina come into view. Emma gasped silently. Regina was littered with bruises all over her arms and chest, her leg was bandaged, and she had dark circles under her eyes. Emma felt tears gather in her emerald eyes. The savior didn’t protect her love like she promised she would.

“It’s okay. I’m just going to take one of those pain pills, lay down for a bit, and maybe make some calls. Go. Thank you for your extreme hospitality.” Regina smiled shyly at the Emma Swan carbon copy, who frowned thoughtfully.

“Regina, I hit you with my car because I was texting and you were nice enough to not call the police. Your car is totaled and you needed ten stitches on your leg. I’d say accompanying you to and from the hospital and keeping you company was the least I could do.” Regina smiled lightly before nodding.

“It was nice to meet you, even though the circumstances could have been better.” The brunette extended her hand and the bitch, as Emma decided to call her, eagerly took the hand and held for a bit to long. 

“We could meet under better circumstances,” Regina furrowed her brows, “Have dinner with me?”

Emma’s hand clenched and she watched with rapt attention. Did she lose Regina? She saw the brunette smile apologetically.

“Jen, you’re great,” Emma tensed, “But I just got out of a relationship and I'm just trying to keep my head above water. Now’s not a good time.”

Emma didn’t think she could tense anymore but hearing Regina refer to their relationship as over really fucked her up. Jen sighed, “I get it. So this girl must have been special, huh?”

“She was the greatest woman I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting and I screwed it up like I always do,” Regina frowned and gulped, “Again, thank you and if you could lock the door on the way out, I’d really appreciate it.”

Jen grinned as she scribbled down something on the back of a paper and placed it on the bed beside the brunette, “If you change your mind or feel ready, call me. It’s been genuinely nice talking to you. Goodbye Regina.”

“Goodbye.” Regina watched the woman walk away, only letting her emotions show when the door clicked shut. Emma watched Regina double over, her elbows propped on her knees and her closed fists under her chin, keeping her head up. The brunette peered at the paper Jen scribbled her number on and sighed. She stood shakily, balancing on one foot, and hopped to the trash, where she unceremoniously dumped the paper. Emma slowly made her way out of the bathroom while Regina’s back was turned.

“I’m glad you didn’t take her up on her offer.” Emma sated softly, not wanting to scare her love. Regina jumped anyway but gripped the desk next to trash bin and stayed upright. She didn’t turn to face the blonde and Emma felt her heart race.

“Emma?” Regina rasped, sounding emotional.

“Yeah baby,” Emma whispered as her eyes crinkled with happiness… until Regina turned and glared at her, “Baby?”

“Now I’m baby?” Regina sighed, her eyes softening, “Emma, what’re you doing here?”

Emma stilled. The reception was hot and Emma whispered, “I missed you.”

Wrong choice of words, apparently, because Regina began sobbing. When Emma began walking towards the crying woman, a firm hand in the air halted her. Regina wiped her eyes and sniffed hastily. It was like she was trying to get herself under control, not wanting to break down in front of Emma. 

“Oh my God, you don’t trust me.” Emma stated, her widened eyes darting between Regina’s chocolate one’s.

“I trust you but I’m a bit upset with you right now. I don’t trust your words. You say such sweet things and then you hurt me by ignoring me, acting like I don’t exist. You know that that’s exactly how I felt with the King? Like a painting on the wall that was to be stared at but not really appreciated.”

That hurt. She never wanted to be mentioned in the same sentence as Leopold ever again. Emma sighed self deprecatingly. 

“I begged you not to give me false hope and you did,” Regina continued, “You ignored me like I was nothing and you know how that made me feel? Like I didn’t matter to you. Like I don’t matter.”

“Regina,” Emma cried, reaching for the brunette’s hand and holding it once the blonde was sure that Regina wasn’t going to pull away, “I got scared. I forgive—forgave you three days after I found out. I thought about you constantly and I realized that you were sorry for those things and that you’ve changed. I knew who you were back then and that woman was cold and vicious. But this Regina, my Regina, she’s sorry and she want’s to make up for her mistakes and she didn’t deserve what I did, okay? I’m sorry.”

Regina sniffed again and her face contorted sadly, “So what? You forgave me but decided to treat me like shit so that I could hurt the way that you were hurt by his passing?” 

“No!” Emma shouted desperately, “No, God, no. I… I don’t know why I didn’t speak to you right away—“

“That’s reassuring,” Regina sighed and crossed her arms as if trying to protect herself, her heart, “You should go back home Emma.”

Emma stiffened, “I want you to come back with me, please. I need to make this right because I’ve been miserable and I know you have too. I can’t take being away from you for another second. Please.”

“You seemed to do just fine without me for a month.” Regina’s faltered and Emma knew she was close to crying again.

“Then you weren't looking close enough.” 

“That’s probably because you didn’t let me near you, Emma.” Regina blinked rapidly, trying to stifle tears. 

“Regina,” The blonde whimpered, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was scared that our dynamics would change, that our relationship would change, that—“

“That when you saw me after my confession, you wouldn’t feel love.” Regina stated.

“Are you out of your fucking mind? Of course I’d feel love! I love you!” Emma yelled, “I’ll always love you. Always. I needed space to think and when I forgave you, I was afraid that the information would break us but it didn’t! I love you so much and I was miserable without you. I drove by the mansion every night, I sprayed your perfume on my pillows, I listened to your classical music crap, and I couldn’t sleep. I needed you but I was a coward.”

“It’s not crap.” Regina whispered, a small tug of her red lips made Emma smile widely.

“Huh?” Emma moved forward and sat down on the bed gently.

“Classical music. It’s not crap.” Emma laughed, genuinely for the first time in nearly a month. Regina smiled shyly.

“Gina, come home with me. We can go on more dates and I could romance you like you would believe.” Emma reached forward to tuck a rogue hair behind an ear.

“I don’t need romance Emma. I just want you to want me. I need you to care about my feelings. I need you to understand me. I need you.” Emma sighed with relief before smashing their lips together passionately. They both moaned. 

“I love you, Regina. I’m sorry for hurting you.” Emma nuzzled their noses together.

“I love you too. I’m sorry about Graham, truly.” Emma nodded sincerely and Regina released a breath, she felt all her worries melt away when Emma sealed their lips together again.

“Let’s go home.” Emma cradled her face, placing several kisses on Regina’s suspecting mouth.

“You expect me to ride seven hours in that death trap again?” Regina teased lightly.

“You survived the last time.” Emma volleyed back. Regina raised a perfect eyebrow.

“Barely.” Emma chuckled in defeat, remembering the Bug screeching into a ditch.

“Touché.”


	18. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina returns to Storybrooke

The car was silent and Emma couldn’t stop taking peeks at a napping Regina, watching her brunette head vibrate against the glass window. She knew that Regina was still weary around her. She could sense it. While they were packing, Regina avoided her eyes and collected her belongings in silence. Yes, she had a small smile on her face but she was distant. Then, when Emma reached to help her pack, Regina grinned and told her that her assistance was not needed. Emma tried to hug the woman from behind but the brunette was avoiding her touch. At first, Emma thought it was unintentional. Emma would slowly walk towards her and lift her arms to caress any part of her and Regina would suddenly remember an item that was stored in another room and walk away from the blonde. After three attempts, Emma noticed that Regina would come back from the other rooms empty handed and she realized it was an excuse. 

Once the former queen packed up her two suitcases, she started towards the door, carrying the luggage herself, which was a ridiculous idea because a crutch supported the woman. When Emma tried to help, Regina brushed it off, saying she had it but they argued mildly until Regina relented, allowing Emma to take the luggage. The moment they got inside the car, Regina leaned towards the window and closed her eyes, explaining that her adventure to the hospital had drained her but Emma saw that Regina was actually awake, her breaths short and uneven. The brunette was avoiding conversation and that alarmed the blonde. Was the brunette still upset?

But Emma let the woman be. She rolled down her own window and draped her arm alongside the driver side, starting to whistle Ain’t No Mountain High Enough in the hopes of sparking a reaction from Regina. All she got was slight upward tilt of her red, plump lips.

“Mom!” Henry ran towards the Bug, stumbling slightly when his sneaker caught an uneven piece of sidewalk.

“Easy tiger. Let’s not spend your mom’s first day back at the hospital,” Ruby laughed happily, looking at her best friend affectionately, “And watch her injuries, would you?”

Henry sprinted until he stood inches in front of his brunette mother then he stilled before throwing his arms around her. Regina quickly reciprocated, burrowing her nose into her son’s hair and chuckling softly at his clumsy approach.

“Mom, I missed you so much!” Henry looked up at her. Soon, he would be looking down on her. He was growing so rapidly. 

“I missed you too my little prince,” Regina ran her fingers through his unruly hair, “Did your grandparents take you to get your monthly haircut?”

Henry grimaced comically before stating unconvincingly, “Yes.”

Regina chuckled and shook her head before pulling back from their loose embrace. She turned to look at Ruby, who outstretched her arms, desperate for a hug. The wolf needed to feel Regina to be sure that her best friend was really back and that she wasn’t in the midst of a dream. Regina hobbled towards the other brunette, who found her difficulties humorous, and threw down the crutch when Ruby lifted her into the air. Regina released a succinct squeal.

“Watch her injuries, would you?” Henry shouted at Ruby sarcastically before bursting into snickers. The brunette’s ignored his smart ass comment and continued their overly friend welcome home hug. The overly friendly description was according to Emma, who was leaning on the Bug’s trunk and watching the scene grumpily. 

“Regina!” A familiar voice shrieked from across the street. The group turned and saw Snow sprinting their way, narrowing avoiding oncoming traffic, and Charming covering his eyes in embarrassment. As Snow neared, Regina opened her arms, inviting the small brunette to run into an embrace. Snow accepted the invitation eagerly and launched herself into the waiting arms, almost toppling them over.

“Ow!” Regina exclaimed humorously as Snow jumped in her arms, causing the older brunette to bounce up and down. 

“Oh! Sorry!” Snow exclaimed, her eyes wide. Regina shrugged before pulling the woman back into her. Well, damn. Snow White got a better reception than Emma. The blonde grimaced. Yeah, she was in deep shit. Charming came running behind a few second later, out of breath.

“Could you try not to get yourself flattened in the street?” Charming questioned his wife as she released her koala-like hold on Regina. Once she stepped back, Charming gave the injured woman a one armed hug, “Welcome back, your majesty. Everyone missed you, even Grumpy and that’s saying something.”

“He missed how you used to sit at the diner and teased Ruby with him.” Snow chimed in.

“It just wasn’t the same.” Ruby sighed wittily. Regina smiled brightly at them before turning to face Emma. The blonde noticed her smile falter slightly.

“Emma, could we go to the mansion to drop off my things?” Once Emma nodded, Regina turned to the others and handed the wolf some money, “Ruby, can you get us some take out and bring it to Mifflin? I was thinking maybe we could all have a late lunch, early dinner, together.”

Everyone nodded excitedly. Charming and Snow claimed they would meet them at the mansion after picking up Neal. Henry insisted on going with his grandparents so that he could pack a suitcase. He wanted to stay with his mom for a while to make up for lost time. Ruby stuffed the money she was given into her bra before sauntering off towards the diner. Regina and Emma climbed into the yellow Bug and drove to the mansion in silence. 

Regina hobbled into the study as Emma unloaded the cargo and placed the two cases in the foyer, off to the side so no one would trip. The savior made her way to the study and saw Regina sitting comfortably, her eyes closed and head leaned against the back of the couch. 

“What’s going on?” Emma whispered, her sad tone giving away her emotions. Regina opened her eyes slowly before moving her eyes from the ceiling to the blonde and sighed.

“I’m not sure about what happens now and uncertainty always made me uncomfortable. I can feel my walls go up when you’re around now.” Emma stilled at ugly truth.

“I told you I’m sorry. I missed you and I love you. I was hoping we could pick up where we left off.” Emma walked towards the brunette, cautiously taking the free space next to the brunette. 

“Honey, we can’t pretend it never happened. I hurt you and you hurt me. I’m certain that our love is strong. I’m questioning your readiness for this,” Regina shook her head rapidly, “You said it yourself. Our track records are shoddy. I’m wondering if you really want to be with me—“

“Baby—“

“No, just let me speak,” Emma nodded sadly, “You say you love me and you can’t live without me but you did for a month. You went to work, worked on Hook’s case, ate at the diner, and went to the park with Henry. It was like I was… disposable. I promised I would not allow myself to feel this way anymore so I’m conflicted. I think you really need to think about what you want because it’s entirely plausible that you love me very much but don’t think we could work. I don’t want to feel that way, the way you made me feel all last month, ever again and I wonder if you’d do it again whenever you’d like. I’m done with walking on eggshells in order to keep someone around. I did that with Robin and it killed me to keep up that charade.”

“Regina—“

“I need you to understand that the Evil Queen doesn’t exist anymore! She was a horrendous, broken human being but Regina Mills lives on and she may not be evil but she’s not taking shit anymore. I need to know that you can separate me from her.”

“Regina, I can! Please.” Emma pleaded. A pregnant silence took over the room as the brunette blinked and her hands rubbed her thighs. Suddenly, she turned to Emma and outstretched her hand.

“Hello, I’m Regina Mills. I have a son, Henry, who is an amazingly creative boy and I love him so much. I’m the mayor of this godforsaken, beautiful small town. I have a dark sense of humor, I just came out of the closet after a lifetime of hiding who I was, I act superior about my healthy lifestyle but I have a hidden jar of Nutella somewhere in the house, I can play several songs on the piano, and I love Emma Swan, the bane of my existence.”

Emma chuckled as happy tears dripped from her eyelashes. She took the offered hand and shook, not letting go, and whispered, “I’m Emma Swan. I have a son Henry, who is so much like his other mom that it makes me laugh every time he glares, and I love him so much. I’m the sheriff of this godforsaken, beautiful small town. I have a sense of humor that most people don’t get, I just realized that chicks are all kinds of hot, I eat like a sumo wrestler and don’t give a rats ass about calorie counts, I’ve been told I’m tone deaf but I’ll never stop singing, and I really, really, really, love Regina Mills, the biggest pain in the ass I’ve ever met.”

“You’re the pain in the ass, not me.” Regina whispered playfully against Emma’s smiling lips.

“Would you do me the honor of going out with me?” Emma smiled goofily at her love’s face as she leaned in to place a barely-there kiss on the other woman’s smirking mouth. 

“I don’t know. Can you give me a day or two to think about it?” Regina asked teasingly.

“I see we’re already joking about it!” Emma’s jaw dropped as she burst out laughing. Regina snickered before kiss her soundly. 

“Yes, I would love to go out with you.” Emma closed her eyes, smirking mischievously.

“So I planned the last one, you think you could take this one?” Emma joked and Regina glared good-humoredly.

“I was just starting to like you.” Regina lightly slapped the blonde’s bicep.

“You love me.” Emma grinned casually, her eyes full of affection.

“Unfortunately, dear.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Bingo!” Snow shrieked. The family and Ruby were seated around Regina’s dining room table after their delicious meal.

“Grandma, we’re playing Uno.” Henry snorted and all the adults laughed as Snow slapped down a card. Charming groaned when he saw the ‘plus four’ card.

“Come on, Snow, why do you always screw me over!” Charming bellowed, slapping his palm on the table. Regina smiled, her happiness shining in her eyes.

“I’m playing to win baby!” Snow rubbed her hands together conspiratorially. Charming collected his cards begrudgingly. 

“Sleep with one eye open.” He grumbled. Henry winked at his mother’s, who looked ready to burst out laughing.

“I gotta tell you, true love really disappears during Uno,” Ruby smacked her lips, “Remind me not to play with Desdemona.”

“Charming, put down a card!” Snow urged as she leaned over in an attempt to see his cards. He pulled them to his chest before she could see anything. He pointed at her accusingly. 

“Cheat!” Emma couldn’t hold her laughter any longer. She placed her cards face down on the table and placed her palms on her forehead. Her shoulders bounced with mirth. Soon, Regina joined, rubbing Emma’s back soothingly. Then Henry and Ruby found their combined laughter contagious and began cackling. Snow and Charming stared each other down before slow smiles slinked onto their faces and they fell into inconsolable giggles. Emma recovered first, wiping at her eyes.

“Oh my God.” She breathed. Regina bent her head, laying it on her shoulder, and Emma rested her cheek on the woman’s hair. She could smell apples. 

“Just put down a card.” Snow giggled.


	19. Sap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina's becoming a sap

Regina was cleaning up the mess that her family had left behind. She smiled to herself as she stood at the sink, washing dishes and placing them on the drying rack. Emma appeared behind her and placed a quick peck on the brunette’s lips before grabbing a dry rag. She wiped off the moisture from the plates and utensils before putting them back into their proper locations. Regina playfully bumped her hip into Emma’s, sending the blonde swaying. Emma would ‘retaliate’ with a soft kiss to her shoulder.

The moment was extremely domestic and Emma thought she would feel out of place but, no, it was nice. It was like she was finally home. 

“Regina?” The woman scraping at a ceramic plate vigorously hummed, “Tonight was nice, right? It was like a real family.”

“Yes, honey, it was a lovely night.” Regina sighed happily, shaking her hands to rid them of remaining water. 

“I realized tonight just how much I missed Sunday family dinner.” Regina threw her a smile and grabbed a paper towel to wipe her hands. Emma reached up to place a stack of plates away when she felt Regina give her rump a little swat. Emma laughed merrily. 

“I’m going to go upstairs and freshen up.” Regina gave her a distinct, sensual look before sashaying up the staircase.

“Not fair! You can’t say that and then leave me with an ass load of manual labor!” Emma called after her. The blonde’s smile didn’t diminish as she half-assed the task, wanting to get upstairs pronto. Before the cabinet could shut properly, Emma was running up the stairs, two steps at a time. She burst into the bedroom and shut it lightly so she wouldn’t disturb Henry. Emma turned to look at the room and stilled. The dim room was covered in lit candles, creating a sexy glow. Emma’s eyes finally landed on the bed and her jaw hit the floor. 

There was Regina, on the edge of the bed, in a lace bra and pantie set but the garters stimulated Emma’s arousal ten-fold. She was perched like a damn goddess, waiting to be taken. The brunette reached for Emma, who practically pounced. Regina let out a loud squeal and Emma silenced her with a kiss.

“Henry.” Emma warned. Regina just laughed harder.

“I put up a silencing spell. We can be as loud as we want.” Emma moaned and attacked Regina’s lips again but with much more fervor. She missed this, the intimacy. Wrapped in the brunette’s arms was a comfort she had never felt before. She could have lost it, lost this. It made her kiss the woman under her harder, deeper, faster. Regina whined when they parted.

“I want to make you feel good.” Emma muttered as she practically ripped off her shirt and jeans. 

“So do it.” Regina whimpered, slowly removing her bra straps. Emma occupied the space between Regina’s thighs, her abdomen putting delicious pressure on her clit causing her to grab the pillow beneath her head with a brutal grip. 

Emma unsnapped the suspenders and slowly dragged them down milky legs, kissing the skin as it was exposed. She even placed loving kisses to each toe causing the brunette to wiggle and state breathlessly, “That tickles.”

“Good to know.” Emma whispered as she ascended to meet the chocolate eyes she loved so much. Regina smiled genuinely at her and the blonde was mesmerized. They stared at one another for a moment or two before Emma’s eyes traveled to red lips. She leaned down to press a desperate kiss, hoping that Regina would understand the unspoken sentiments. I’m an idiot for hurting you. You’re amazing. I could never love anyone the way I love you. You’re not disposable. You matter.

Emma unclipped her bra and slowly removed the garment; finally getting a glimpse of those perky, small breasts that haunted her wet dreams. She took a stiff peak between her lips, sucked gently, before releasing with a nip. Regina groaned and arched her back, bringing the breast closer to Emma’s eager mouth. The blonde flicked the bud with the tip of her tongue repeatedly until Regina squirmed. She then turned her attention to the neglected nipple and repeated the process. Then Emma leaned down to kiss a taut abdomen, her tongue slipping into her navel unexpectedly. The brunette lifted her hips, begging for more friction, more pressure, more of anything. 

The sheriff leaned back on her knees, taking in the view of a sweaty, sexy, and ready Regina. The brunette was a portrait, a work of art, and Emma couldn’t stop appreciating. Her legs were parted, giving the blonde an unsullied view of her pink, swollen pussy, engorged clit, and beautiful breasts that bounced with each buck of the brunette’s hips. Emma couldn’t hold back any longer. She backed up slightly, lowering her upper body, but leaving her round ass in the air. 

She had never pleasured a woman before and she was afraid of fucking it up. She wanted to satisfy Regina the way that the brunette turned her mind to mush that first night. Plus, she had never tasted another woman’s essence before. She had tasted herself on former lover’s lips, on Regina’s lips, but this was different. She begged every deity that she was at least satisfactory. 

She lowered her mouth down and kissed rigid inner thighs that were anticipating. Emma could smell her love’s juices and she felt she mouth water. She plunged right in. Regina shrieked. What Emma lacked in technique, she made up for in enthusiasm. The woman was eating her like she was a delicacy, sucking and nipping at very inch before inserting her tongue inside of Regina’s wet cavern in order to collect more essence. 

“God, who knew pussy tasted this good?” Emma whined, never wanting to stop. She had a feeling that she would get random cravings for this, as if Regina’s juices were a sweet dessert that she couldn’t stop thinking about. 

“A large portion of the lesbian community.” Regina answered shakily, her fingers reaching down to fist Emma’s blonde strands. The brunette felt the heat building to a boil and she didn’t fight it. Emma’s fervor was driving her crazy. The thought that the savior was obsessed with her pussy was sending her off the edge. She let out a long moan when Emma inserted three fingers into her tight, slick hole easily. She began pumping enthusiastically, managing to hit her g-spot over and over and over. 

“Yes!” Regina bucked her hips to match the blonde’s rhythm, “Right there!”

“Fuck.” Emma whispered before flicking her tongue over the clit for several moments and felt Regina pulled roughly on her hair, ripping a few strands. The brunette let out a loud scream and stilled after a few, long seconds. Emma removed her fingers but continued licking, running her tongue over every section of Regina. The sound of wet flesh and the taste of her on the tongue were turning Emma on beyond belief. Emma continued, avoiding the clit because she knew the woman would be sensitive. 

“Emma…” Regina sighed, “You don’t have to keep doing that. I came.”

“I know,” Emma whispered against the folds, “I don’t want to stop.”

Neither noticed the magic in the air.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The diner was filled to the brim with citizens who wanted to welcome the queen back home. Granny made a buffet bar with several food options and brought out the good liquor, even though it was 2:00 pm. 

“It’s 5 o’clock somewhere!” Grumpy justified. They couldn’t fit everyone in the diner so the party made it’s way onto the streets when Regina, Emma, and Henry climbed out of the Benz. They were greeted with cheers and Regina, ever the politician, smiled and shook hands with everyone in reach. The trio made their way into the diner. 

“Hey guys!” Ruby called from behind the counter, shaking her upper body flirtatiously. Henry stood from the booth, saying he had to pee, to which Regina scolded him for bad manners.

“You’re supposed to say ‘please excuse me, I must use the restroom’, not ‘hey yo I have to piss’.” Regina imitated and Emma burst out laughing.

“Say yo again.” Emma chortled as Henry walked away with a bright smile. The bell chiming interrupted them. The Charming’s entered. 

“Good afternoon everyone.” Snow greeted cheerfully, tucking Neal’s blanket more securely around the baby, as Charming took a chair from an unoccupied table and brought it to the open end of the booth. 

“Hello,” Regina peered into Neal’s carriage and cooed, “Oh, he has such chubby cheeks. Henry had such puffy cheeks as well. He also had such a charismatic blush. I used to joke that he had to rummage through my makeup when my back was turned.”

Emma smiled; thinking about Regina with a baby Henry was too cute. Then the thoughts morphed and baby Henry became a little girl with Emma’s eyes and Regina’s beautiful dark brown locks. Regina did mention wanting another but that she was barren. But Emma could carry it. She was sure there was a way to do it naturally; creating a child that was genetically both of theirs. With magic, there was always a way. 

Emma shook her head. They had just gotten back on good terms. Hell, they didn’t live together yet. She couldn’t obsess over her thoughts. One day, they’d have another baby. One day.

“Tell me you have pictures.” Snow squeaked as she plopped down next to Regina. 

“Oh, please, I went nuts with pictures and videos. Maybe one day you can come over to the mansion and we could watch a few?” Regina asked as she waved Ruby over.

“I would love that!” Snow beamed. Ruby appeared next to Charming and Snow, using the buff man’s shoulder to prop herself up. 

“What can I get you, sweet things? The usual’s?” Ruby blew a bubble with her gum and popped it loudly. 

“Actually, I would like a cheese burger with seasoned fries,” Regina informed. Everyone turned to gape at her, “What?”

“Miss Mills, Madame Mayor, Sass Queen, eating a burger? Is this a new curse?” Ruby joked. Regina just smirked when she caught Emma’s winking eye, “Any other changes?”

Everyone shook their heads as Henry walked back to the table and sat next to Emma, “Hey Grandma and Grandpa.”

“Hey sport,” Charming ruffled his hair, “Did you get the essay we worked on back yet?”

“Yeah, I got an A!” The two high-fived and the women grinned warmly. Regina cleared her throat.

“So, I’ve been meaning to ask you about Blue. Have you figured out where Hook got the wristband from?” Emma sat up.

“We’ve been questioning him under the library but his skanky lips are sealed.” Emma snarled and Charming nodded distastefully. 

Charming leaned in towards the brunette sorceress and whispered, “Honestly, my gut is telling me that Blue was involved. I don’t want to believe it because she has been an ally to us but I’ve always had a weird feeling about her.” 

“Yes, she’s always been so secretive.” Snow added. Emma nodded. The Blue bitch always rubbed her the wrong way. She acted all…well, superior. She always gave half-truths and riddles. And since the defeat of the Queens of Darkness, Rumple became a closer ally than the Blue Fairy. Tinkerbell and Nova were the only fairies Emma trusted.

“I think she was involved but I have no proof.” Emma sighed. 

“Maybe we should just drop it and move on?” Regina questioned. Everyone shook their heads vehemently. 

“No, Regina. If she had something to do with this, we’ll find out and we’ll get justice for you.” Snow exclaimed, squeezing the other brunette’s hand.

“Yes, we weren’t there for you when you needed help in the Enchanted Forest but we’re here now and we’re family. We will see this through.” Charming smiled at Regina and she threw him a grateful grin. Emma melted. All this love, affection, and protectiveness made her heart race and her throat constrict. She was becoming a sap and she loved it.


	20. Balance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some panic and happy tears

So the weeks flew by in a pattern, almost exactly as it was before. Regina and Emma talked about their separation and Graham several times until they both felt satisfied with their emotional stability. It soothed Emma to know that they had an open line of communication with one another. They could tell each other how they were feeling and they calmly resolved it together. Who knew that the two women who spent a year yelling, scheming, and one-upping would be master communicators? 

Both women felt that their relationship was back to what it was before the incident, maybe stronger. It confirmed that they had the drive for fight for their relationship. 

“Baby, are you sure you’re not hungry? You haven’t eaten all day.” Emma questioned. It was Sunday night and the entire family, now including Ruby, was seated in the apartment.

“I haven’t been feeling well today. If I get hungry later, I’ll eat a small snack. I’m just so tired. The mayor’s office was bombarded with meetings and paperwork.” Emma frowned.

“Gina, you can’t work yourself to death.” Ruby stated, concerned for her friend. Regina gestured lazily with her hand, urging the rest of the family to eat without her. Everyone paused for a moment before filling their plates and digging in. Snow’s eyes flickered between her daughter and Regina, who was scrunching up her face at the smell of the roasted pork. Snow’s eyes widened imperceptibly. She had a gut feeling that Regina wasn’t just tired but she would approach the brunette alone. 

Snow cleared her throat, “So, Emma, how’s it been going with the Blue situation?”

“Blue is acting cagy after we cornered her in the church. She definitely helped him,” Emma chewed carefully before continuing, “She’ll confess. She knows we got her.”

“Good thing Hook flipped on her when we offered him rum.” Charming chuckled.

“Alcoholic douche bag.” Ruby murmured before stuffing mashed potatoes into her mouth. 

“Amen.” Regina sighed, her eyes half-closed. Henry studied her for a second.

“Mom, why don’t you go lay down in Ma’s room while we eat?” The boy suggested and all the adults nodded in agreement. 

“I think I’ll do that.” Regina stood, smoothed her skirt, and bent to kiss Emma quickly before moving up the stairs. The family continued eating and talking about their respective days. Once enough time passed, Snow announced that she had to use the restroom and sprinted to Emma’s bedroom. She entered slowly, not wanting to disturb Regina if was already asleep. She closed the door behind her inaudibly before turning in the dark room.

“Snow?” Regina whispered, propping her upper body up on her elbows. Snow walked slowly to the bed and sat down on the free side, her back supported by the headboard. Regina pushed herself onto her ass, scooting back to match Snow’s position.

“Regina, what’s going on?” The younger woman questioned softly, interlacing their fingers for comfort. Regina wrapped her free arm around her abdomen and leaned her head back against the wood. 

“It’s impossible,” The older woman whispered, “I drank a potion that made me barren. It can’t be. It has to be exhaustion.”

Snow smiled lightly, not wanting to get her hopes up, “A long time ago, a very smart woman told me that true love was the greatest magic of all. I think if anything could make this happen for you, it would be your love for Emma.”

“I don’t want to get excited,” Regina smiled involuntarily, “I don’t want to feel happy about something that may not be happening. And Emma, she might react negatively. What do I do?”

“We buy a pregnancy test. I’ll tell them that I have to pick up milk, which is true, and I’ll get like six tests then we have you squat and tinkle. If it comes out positive, you’ll tell Emma. It’s going to be okay.”

“Thank you Snow.” The younger brunette nodded before letting out a quiet squeal as she bounced on the mattress. 

“You might be having a baby!” Snow whispered, hugging Regina’s midsection lightly. 

“I might be having a baby.” Regina whispered back in awe, her smile so large it blinded her former stepdaughter. 

Snow made her back downstairs inconspicuously. She and Regina decided that the younger woman should wait until dessert was over to go to the store. Regina would ask Emma if they could stay at the apartment because she was too tired to go home. Of course, Emma would agree rapidly and Regina would wait for the blonde to fall asleep before meeting Snow in the bathroom. 

So Snow picked at her dessert, chewing slowly. She was too nervous to down chocolate ice cream. She might be a grandma again! Her leg started bouncing, causing her chair to squeak, as the minutes ticked by. She completely blocked out all conversation, staring at the clock. When she felt eyes burning into forehead, she glanced around the table and caught Ruby’s eyes. The wolf tilted her head, wanting a minute alone.

“Everyone done?” Emma, Henry, and Charming nodded, “Great! Give your bowls.”

“I’ll help.” Ruby smiled and took the utensils. The two women made their way to the kitchen. Both brunette’s threw the dirty dishes into the sink and Snow turned the tap on high, knowing the sound of water hitting metal would drown out their voices. Ruby and Snow turned, leaning their butts on the counter, facing the wall.

“Her hormone’s are out of whack. I can smell it,” Ruby whispered and paused before clearing her throat, “Is she...”

“I think so.” Snow nodded, her face blank. She didn’t know how Ruby would react to this information. Yes, Ruby loved Regina and knew that a baby would make her happy. But Ruby was apprehensive of Emma. The wolf saw how dejected Regina was during the separation, how the rejection brought up negative memories and lowered her moral. She believed that Emma had a lot of making up to do. Snow was inclined to agree. As Emma’s mother, she understood why Emma had needed time but, as a woman, she knew a month of snubbing was rude and uncalled for. 

“I don’t know how to feel.” The wolf crossed her arms over her chest; the conflicting emotions were battling in her mind.

“Be happy. This is something Regina has wanted for a long time.” Snow begged, her eyes shining. Her former stepmother needed support from all her friends, especially if Emma reacted negatively, which was a distinct possibility. Emma had the tendency to run before she thinks. 

“Snow, I’m happy that Regina’s going to have a baby, a shining light in her life other than Henry. But with Emma? I don’t know… I don’t know.” Ruby covered her eyes with her palms and sighed. Snow slumped, knowing that Ruby had a point. Emma was a flight risk and Snow had never heard her daughter talk about more children. 

“Emma wouldn’t hurt Regina.” Ruby snorted and Snow cringed, knowing her sentence was a lie. They had already hurt one another deeply. Their relationship was in a recovery period. Thing had just gotten back to normal. Snow sincerely hoped that her daughter would be happy.

“She’s already—“ Snow lifted her hand, knowing what Ruby was about to say. The pixie-haired woman pinched the bridge of her nose.

“I’m going to get her a few tests later.” Ruby nodded jerkily and Snow sighed, feeling an obligation to defend her daughter but she knew that Emma had been in the wrong. 

“She needed time.” Snow whispered unconvincingly, wringing her hands together.

“She made Regina feel like shit! You may have paid her daily visits but I was there almost all the time. I saw her cry herself to sleep. You don’t know anything!” Ruby’s voice faltered and she paused, getting her emotions together, “I swear, Snow, Emma better not hurt her if she is with child. This is supposed to be a happy time. When it comes to Emma, I’m a lot of talk because Regina loves her flaky ass but if she fucks this up, I’ll chase her out of town.” 

“Ruby!” Snow whispered desperately.

“No! I’m done letting her off the hook!” Ruby uncrossed her arms and slapped a palm down on the counter. Snow glared at her friend before turning to the sink, holding herself up using the counter. Emma raced into the kitchen after seeing their body language get aggressive. She paused, watching them closely.

“Everything okay here?” Emma asked slowly, inching closer to the two women that were glaring at her. Snow softened first, slouching her shoulders and pushing away from the counter. Snow sent a look at Ruby, who was staring at the wall by the fridge, avoiding everyone’s eyes. Snow sighed, knowing Ruby was clamming up.

“Everything’s fine. We’re just having a conversation.” She turned back to the sink and lathered up the sponge with dish soap. The wolf’s eyes darted to Emma, giving her a scathing look. Emma narrowed her eyes at the tall brunette and stepped forward ominously. 

“Something you want to say to me Ruby?” Emma questioned darkly. Ruby turned to face the blonde. Snow froze with a plate in her hand and soap dripping from her hand. Her eyes widened as she watched her daughter and friend stare each other down. If the tap was off, everyone would be able to hear a pin drop. The women could hear Henry and Charming powering on the Xbox in the living room, laughing and choosing what they were going to play. Ruby sauntered forward, stopping right next to Emma, shoulder to shoulder. The wolf tilted her head towards the blonde.

“Get your shit together and you won’t hear a peep from me.” Ruby continued out of the kitchen, leaving behind a stunned Emma and a nervous Snow. They watched Ruby run up the stairs and Emma growled. The blonde ambled to her mother, standing close.

“What’s going on?” Emma questioned quietly, “Does Ruby still love Regina? Is that why she’s been giving me grief for weeks?”

“Emma,” Snow sighed, reaching for another plate, “She’s upset with you… for the whole separation thing. She just wonders if you’re the best thing for Regina.”

“Oh.” Emma blinked and Snow shook her head.

“You are. It’s just… you both have made mistakes and it’s been rocky. Ruby wants a perfect person for Regina, that’s what all best friends want, but the perfect person doesn’t exist. The right person does and they come with flaws.” Snow explained as she finished scrubbing the last dirty fork.

“She doesn’t approve of me?” Emma grumbled sarcastically. Snow shook her hands and moved to dry them before returning to the counter.

“She has told me that she wonders if she made the right decision in pushing you two together. She said that, at first, Regina was blind to your feelings and that she wanted to stay with Ruby but Ruby convinced her to chase after true love,” Snow closed her eyes, “Ruby regrets breaking up with her sometimes. She said that they could’ve had a happy life together if they stayed together, that it wouldn’t have been true love but it could’ve bee enough.”

“Son of a bitch,” Emma mumbled, “She’s not wrong.”

“Oh Emma—“ Snow caressed Emma’s shoulders lovingly.

“No. I haven’t been good to Regina, not good enough. She deserves better,” Emma sighed. Snow froze. This was going downhill and now was not the time for this, “And I’m going to get better for her. I will not lose her. Our relationship is the greatest thing that’s happened to me since finding you guys and I want her to be happy.”

Snow smiled lightly, “You really love her, don’t you?”

“You have no fucking idea.” Emma smiled back brightly, backing out of the kitchen to join Henry and her dad. 

Ruby climbed the stairs quickly, needing to talk to her best friend. She needed to hear about the possible pregnancy from Regina’s lips. The wolf was conflicted, as she told Snow, because she knew how much Regina regretted taking that potion that made her barren. She regretted it from the moment the cup reached her lips. Ruby knew that this meant that Emma was Regina’s true love and it made her uneasy. She had an inkling before, as she told Regina at the park, but this cemented it.

Back then, the wolf also thought that Emma would be better to her friend but their relationship was a rollercoaster. They had periods of extreme, sappy happiness then they’d hit a major rough patch. Ruby wanted a stable person for Regina. It was difficult to see the ups and downs.

So, Ruby felt guilty for pushing them together, even though Emma and Regina were true loves. Maybe they weren’t meant to be together. Maybe Ruby should’ve stayed with Regina romantically. Maybe they could have been happy.  
But deep down, Ruby knew the truth. Regina would rather go through the ups and downs with Emma than live a stable life with Ruby. That’s why she broke it off. She knew the truth. But that didn’t mean she had to be happy about it and she wasn’t. Emma would have to deal with the protective wolf for an eternity, possible longer. 

“Hey, sweetness, can I come in?” Ruby called through the door. She heard shuffling before the door opened to allow her in. She smiled at Regina as she shut the door behind her. They made their way to the bed.

“How was dessert, Pup?” Regina questioned as they slid under the covers. Ruby laughed half-heartedly.

“Snow’s not too bad with dessert but I still think your apple crumble is better,” Regina chuckled affectionately, “Sweetness, is my hunch true? Are you preggers?” 

“I think so. We won’t know for sure until later.” Regina answered, her smile growing bigger. Ruby stiffened. Seeing how happy Regina was stilled her conflicted emotions. No matter what happened with Emma, this baby would make the older brunette happy, make her smile bright every morning and night. This pregnancy was a blessing, not matter what happened later on. Ruby smiled automatically.

“I’m so happy for you, sweetness. You get another chance at motherhood,” Ruby caressed her abdomen before leaning down and whispering to the area, “You’re going to have the best mom, Peanut. She’s going to spoil and coddle you. Oh yeah, you’re going to have it made.” 

Regina laughed shakily, her emotions finally spilling forward, “Peanut?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m going to call it. I kinda love him or her already,” Ruby kissed Regina’s still flat abdomen before whispering conspiratorially, “Do me a favor, huh? Make your blonde mama’s life a living hell.”

“Ruby!” Regina giggled uncharacteristically. The wolf chuckled but continued talking to the fetus.

“Only listen to me, your aunt Ruby, Peanut. I’m the authority here.” Ruby heard Regina’s melodic laugh and decided that she wanted to hear it more often. 

“You are not.” Regina looked at the wolf lovingly, caressing her long brown locks. Ruby simply winked.


	21. Test

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secrets revealed and reactions

“Ok guys! I’m just going to the store to get some stuff. I’ll be back!” Snow shouted from the door as Emma sat on the couch armrest. The blonde looked around the room, feeling uneasy. Then suddenly she realized that Regina was upstairs, feeling like shit, and she was in the living room, about to watch a game of Mario Kart. It felt wrong. It should be Emma up there comforting Regina, not Ruby.

And Emma knew that this is what the wolf was talking about. The savior should have thought to check on her girlfriend. Emma could try romance and big gestures but it was the small things that mattered most, like checking in when your love wasn’t feeling well. Emma cringed. Her expectations as a girlfriend in the past really screwed her over this time. This was love. This was work and she needed to get her ass in gear because Ruby was doing the caregiving and giving Regina affection. 

Emma was an emotionally stunted woman. It was difficult to express her level of love. She rarely did it and when she did, it was usually right before, during, or after sex. The blonde groaned, which caused the boys to look at her questioningly. She waved them off and they went back to their game. Maybe Ruby was right. She needed to get her shit together… and fast. The wolf was moving in at lightning speed. 

So Emma raced up the stairs, receiving dumbfounded looks from the males, and knocked on the door. She heard Regina’s voice give permission to enter. When she stepped inside, Ruby and Regina were sitting on the bed cross-legged, watching an old sitcom rerun. Regina smiled at her.

“Honey! Come sit with me,” She patted the space next to her before turning to Ruby, “You can go now Pup. Emma will sit with me.”

“Sure thing, sweetness.” Ruby hopped up after giving the older brunette a peck on the cheek. As she made her way out of the room, Emma placed a hand on her arm, stilling her for a moment. 

“I’ll be right in baby. I have to piss,” Emma received a glare, “What I really meant was ‘please excuse me as I use the facilities’.” 

Ruby snorted as Regina smirked and turned back to Everybody Loves Raymond. Emma pulled Ruby’s arm roughly and dragged them into the hallway. She shut the bedroom door and walked several feet away so that her lover couldn’t hear their conversation. Emma stepped forward into Ruby’s personal space.

“I need you to back off. I know you think I’m a piece of garbage that’s unworthy of her love and forgiveness but it’s not your place to decide what’s good for her. You’re trying to take my place and I won’t let you do that. I love her and I’d rather put you down than lose her. I’m trying to break this vicious cycle of shitty relationships but it’s hard and it’s going to take me a while. And sitting down there, I realized that I have a lot of work to do because I allowed a former girlfriend of Regina’s to waltz right up here, cuddle up to her, comfort her. I’m supposed to do that and, yes, I took too long to realize that but I learned now, okay? I need you to act like a best friend to her, not her lover,” Emma hardened her eyes, “You get me?”

Ruby smiled coyly, “It’s about fucking time Swan.”

“Huh?” Emma startled, watching as Ruby’s smile widened. The wolf patted Emma’s cheek.

“I’ve been waiting to see some damn fire! Some passion! Something that proved that you weren’t just floating through this relationship. I was watching you get complacent with how things were and it really pissed me off. I know I was over stepping boundaries, encroaching on your duties, but I was waiting to see just how far I could go before fucking took charge! Emma, you need to fight for her always! Even when you’re married for twenty-five years and you’re going gray, you need to protect her from those horny old bastards.”

Emma stared in disbelief, “Ruby… have you been testing me?”

“I guess you could call it that. I mean, Swan, haven’t you noticed how I’ve been a tad more affectionate, touchy, acting like a suitor,” Emma nodded fervently, ” I was kind off seeing how far you’d let me go, how far you’d allow someone to move in on her. That’s where concerns came from. I skipped over the separation because that wasn’t the biggest issue for me. The biggest issue was your complacency with being undermined. I needed to know that if anything happens to me, you would be there protecting her fiercely, that you wouldn’t let anyone touch her, hurt her. But you let me, for a month, act like her girlfriend and it scared me. I kept wondering if you were ready to just throw in the towel. Then I wondered if I had made a mistake by pushing her to you because of that fact. You’re a runner, Emma. It’s an instinct but I needed to know that even when you’re pushed to your limit, you would stay and fight, not run.”

“So…” Emma gaped, her mouth opening and closing a few times. Ruby let of a bark of laughter.

“Babe, you passed the test! It took you a while but you did it. You didn’t run. You fought me. You’re gaining brownie points with me yet, Emma Swan.” Ruby patted Emma’s shoulder and turned to walk away. 

“Wait… so does this mean you approve of me?” Emma stuttered. Ruby looked back at her affectionately. 

“The whole point, Emma, is that my opinion doesn’t mean anything. Regina’s does. You don’t live to make me happy. You live to make her happy. And if you make her happy, you make me happy. It’s a rad cycle for you.” Ruby grinned.

“So no more flak from you?” Emma smiled nervously, wringing her hands.

“We’ll see.” Ruby laughed.

“What do you mean?” Emma asked, exasperated with the cryptic answers.

“There’s one more test I want you to pass. We’ll know how you did tomorrow. You pass that one, you’re home free, my friend,” Ruby began climbing down the stairs but paused after a few steps and turned to add, “And never quit improving, huh? Never throw in the towel.”

“Never.” Emma stated factually, grinning when she received a large smile from the wolf.

“Go watch sitcoms with your girl.” Then Ruby was gone and Emma felt a weight had been lifted. She thought about Ruby’s test and knew that the girl had been right. Emma had been becoming comfortable with the relationship she had. She had liked that she didn’t have to show much affection to receive a lot from Regina. She had liked Regina’s romantic gestures but hardly did any for the brunette. She had liked being pampered without having to reciprocate. And that was the issue. She needed to reevaluate those things and change them. She needed to show Regina how important she was, never forget to utter those words of love, and do things without the expectation of receiving in return. It would be difficult to change that pattern but she had to do it for Regina.

After all, Regina changed her patterns for Emma. The brunette was used to love being a power play between kingdoms or an outlet for sex. Regina was just as emotionally stunted as Emma, if not worse. So, Emma had to do for Regina what Regina did for her. The balance needed to be shifted. They had to become equals. 

So, she breathed out a puff of air, expecting all her negative patterns to float out. She squared her shoulders, “For Regina.”

The two ladies laughed as they watched the comedy unfold one screen. Emma had her arm around Regina’s shoulders, pulling her into her body and snuggling. Their legs were intertwined, Emma’s toes caressing the bottom of Regina’s foot. 

Raymond Barone, on the television, excitedly yells, “It's twins? Oh, my God, it's twins! Twins don't run in our family! Oh, my God! Am I the man or what? I bet it's because I switched to boxers.”

Emma smiled, wondering if that was ever going to be in the cards for her. She smiled down at Regina, who was mysteriously glassy eyed.

“Baby? Are you okay?” Emma stroked her medium-length brown hair soothingly. Regina nodded succinctly. 

“It’s just… babies. It reminds me of when I got Henry.” Regina sighed happily before reaching up to wipe her eyes. Emma squirmed, knowing this was her chance to ask the question that has been on her mind for a while.

“Regina?” The brunette hummed, “I’m not… saying we have to… or anything. But, uh, have you ever though of… having another?”

Regina almost snapped her neck when she turned to face the blonde, “Why do you ask?”

Emma stared intently at her fingernails, “For weeks, I’ve been having baby fever… I guess. I kind of want another one… with you this time... biologically... kind of...”

“Emma—“ Regina smiled, happy tears gathering in her eyes. Emma would have saw them if she wasn’t avoiding eye contact because she was afraid of rejection. 

“I know you took that potion but, I mean, love is a pretty strong thing, ya know? And anyway, we could adopt again! There are a lot of kids that need a home.” Emma stumbled over her words and Regina could not be more in love with the babbling blonde. 

“Honey,” Regina paused and Emma looked at her expectantly, “I think… I might be pregnant.”

Everything was still. Both women stared at each other in silence. The only sounds heard were the sitcom and Mario Kart. Regina watched as Emma’s stunned face turned into a gargantuan smile. Emma let out an uncharacteristic squeal as she stood on her knees and bounce on the bed in a child-like manner.

“How?” Emma felt tears gathering in her eyes. Regina felt joy flow through every vein in her body.

“Like you said, dear, true love is the most powerful magic of all.” Emma covered her face, the tears finally marring her cheeks. Regina sat up as well and took her into her arms.

Emma pulled back and placed a slobbery kiss on the brunette’s cheek, “I am so fucking ecstatic right now, Gina! We’re going to be parents again… together this time!” 

“Oh, Emma, you have no idea how much your reaction means to me.” Regina whispered, hugging Emma tightly. Emma cradled her head and cried for a few moments before pulling back. She needed Regina to know what this would mean to her.

“Baby, this is amazing, a blessing. I’ve been thinking about this for weeks and I’ve been afraid to bring it up. This news just made my year!” Emma bounced some more, this time grabbing Regina’s hands and forcing her to as well. Regina laughed sweetly before stilling the blonde with hands on the shoulders.

“Let’s not get too excited yet. We don’t know for sure. Snow is getting pregnancy tests at the store.” Emma nodded.

“So my mother knew?” Emma asked as she caressed Regina’s collarbone with a thin finger.

“She figured it out tonight. She noticed the symptoms and confronted me. Then Ruby came in and said that she could smell the change in my hormones. I told them my suspicions and I was going to, as your mother said, squat and tinkle when you went to bed because I was afraid of your reaction. But now, we can do it together.”

Emma laughed, “Be nervous freaks together.”

“Exactly.” The brunette laughed. Emma leaned in and caught her lip between her teeth and nipped. Regina moaned so Emma repeated the action. Emma lovingly laid the brunette down, straddling her knees so that her face could rest on Regina’s tummy. Emma felt tears gather again but she didn’t fight it this time.

“Hey, squishy. It’s your Mama.” Both women chuckled. Regina reached a hand down to caress Emma’s beautiful blonde hair.

“Tell her to disregard what aunt Ruby said about you.” Emma playfully glared at the door, silently scolding the wolf. Regina smirked as Emma leaned back down.

“Don’t listen to Ruby. She’s a mutt.” Regina burst out laughing and Emma couldn’t help but join in. This moment was perfect. This time Emma was happy to learn about a pregnancy involving her. Henry’s pregnancy was sad moment because she knew she had to give him up. Neither of them had been great mothers for Henry but they changed. Together, they would do right by their three children. 

They were going to be mothers again… hopefully.


	22. Tinkle Takeoff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snow's adventures and some SwanMillsCharming goodness

Snow walked to the corner store slowly, taking in the crisp air. She was ecstatic, whistling the entire way there. Seeing Regina with a giant belly waddling down Main Street would bring her such happiness. In her mind, the tests had already been taken. Ruby smelled the hormone change and Regina felt fatigued and nauseous. The signs were all there. Snow was walking on cloud nine. 

When she finally reached the pharmacy counter, Sneezy was snoozing on the counter, his nose red from aggressive wiping. Snow knocked on the counter and the infinitely sick man jumped, wide-eyed. 

“Oh,” He sneezed, “Snow! How could I help you?”

“I need,” Another sneeze, “a pregnancy test.”

“Oh!” A smile and a nasally snort, “Are possible congratulations in order?”

“Yes! It’s not for me though. We just had Neal,” Another sneeze, “Charming and I aren’t that good.”

Sneezy smiled shakily and pointed to the left, “Aisle 6.”

“Thanks!” Snow traversed to the specified aisle and found the tests. There were at least a dozen of them, all different kinds, and Snow thought about calling Regina to ask if she had a preference but quickly shot that idea down. She didn’t want to tip off Emma or Charming. She decided to get one box of the high-tech expensive ones and two boxes of the cheap brand. She picked up some flavored seltzer, hoping for a reason to toast later, a box of pre-packaged cupcakes, and milk.

Snow walked to register, finding no line, and placed everything on the counter. Dopey smiled goofily and began scanning the items. When he reached the tests, his eyes widened and he gaped at Snow’s belly.

“Whoa! You work fast!” Dopey exclaimed before letting out a miniscule burp, “Whoa! I can still taste my lunch!”

“They’re not for me, Dopey.” Snow smiled widely. She loved his loopy behavior immensely. It never failed to make her cheery. 

“Oh!” Dopey nodded quickly, his mouth hanging open. He grabbed the boxes and scanned them without further comment. Snow grinned as he bagged slowly, scratching his head. He handed her the bag and turned away. Snow smirked.

“Dopey!” He turned back and felt her thrust money into his hands, “Just keep the change.”

Snow sighed happily as she entered the apartment. She was welcomed by Charming and Henry’s squeals as they played Mario Kart. She took a cursory glance around.

“Where’s Emma?” Snow questioned as she walked to the kitchen to put away the food and drinks. Charming turned his head while Henry picked a new avatar.

“She ran upstairs and then, like ten minutes later, Ruby raced out of here.” Snow swore she got whiplash from snapping her eyes up the stairs. She smiled insincerely towards her husband.

“Weird.” Snow laughed uncomfortably. Her husband, being the adorable goof he was, simply shrugged with a smile before turning back to the game. Snow furrowed her eyebrows, hoping that nothing horrendous happened during her absence. She doubled bagged the pregnancy tests and made her way upstairs slowly. When she reached Emma’s door, she heard her daughter’s laugh and smiled. She leaned towards the door, hoping to find out what was funny.

“Be nervous freaks together.” Snow tilted her head in confusion.

“Exactly.” She heard Regina chuckle. Snow was glad to hear them seemingly joking around. She heard shuffling.

“Hey, squishy. It’s your Mama.” Snow gasped as she felt tears gather in her eyes. Did Emma know? Snow peeked her head in inconspicuously. She saw that her daughter was speaking to Regina’s abdomen and allowed a few tears to fall. Emma knew that Regina may be pregnant and they were smiling and laughing. Snow didn’t stay longer, not wanting to infringe on the special moment. 

The mother of two walked downstairs with a huge smile adorning her face. Everything was falling into place. She glanced at the couch, noticing that the boys were no longer present. She quirked a brow before shrugging and walking back into the kitchen to put away the tests. She hid them under the sink, next to the cleaning supplies, knowing none of slobs in that household would open that cabinet. God forbid they did some chores.

“So,” Snow jumped, letting out a shriek, before smacking her husband’s arm, “Pregnancy tests? Anything I should know?” 

“Damn it,” Snow clutched at her chest, “I need to put a bell around your neck. You are way too stealthy.”

“Who needs those tests?” Charming smiled, already knowing the answer. Snow looked around to make sure Henry wasn’t around.

“Regina.” Snow whispered. Charming broke out into a blinding smile, his hands grabbing Snow’s shoulders. 

“My mom’s pregnant!” Snow and Charming shrieked loudly. Henry stood by the couch with a large grin.

“Now I see why Regina says you can’t keep a secret.” Charming laughed. Snow groaned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“It’s been five minutes!” Charming yelled through the bathroom door.

“She hasn’t even tinkled yet!” Snow shouted back. The three women were in the bathroom, opening the boxes and preparing the area. Charming and Henry were camped right outside with snacks and handheld devices. 

“You want to hurry it up mom?” Henry yelled, stuffing his face with popcorn. Regina groaned.

“She’s having performance anxiety!” Emma chuckled before crying out when Regina pinched her forearm, “Ow!”

Snow chuckled, “Alright, alright. Let’s do this. Regina, would you like some privacy?”

“Yes but,” The older brunette looked at her lover, “You stay. You did this to me.”

“Wow, is this what the next nine months is going to be like?” Emma joked, her excitement evident in her voice. Snow exited the bathroom, taking a seat next to her husband. She grabbed a bag of pretzels, chewing anxiously.

“We have tinkle takeoff!” Emma yelled. Snow and Charming clapped loudly so that the two women could hear them. Henry whistled. After a few minutes, Snow became antsy.

“How’s it going?” 

“We just finished the tinkle process. Now we wait.” Emma opened the door, allowed Regina to exit, and then followed. They sat in front of Henry, smiling at him eagerly. Regina grabbed his hand.

“Henry, are you okay with this?” Emma asked timidly. She knew that when she was young, a new baby meant back to the system. She wondered if that fear of abandonment applied to adopted kids. She hoped that the boy would be okay. She wanted her children to be close and love one another, even if they would be about fifteen years apart in age. 

“Totally!” Henry nodded enthusiastically, “I can’t wait!”

“You’ll retract that statement when the baby screeches bloody murder at 3 o’clock in the morning.” Charming stated, chuckling when Henry’s eyes widened.

“I may stay over here more often though,” Emma ruffled his hair, “A growing dude needs beauty sleep.”

“Please never refer to yourself as a dude ever again.” Regina said, stealing a kernel of popcorn from Henry’s bowl. The group smiled, the butterflies in their stomachs making them feel as if time was ultra slow. They heard the front door fly open and close with a bang. Ruby appeared at the top of the stairs.

“Did I miss it?” The wolf sprinted and plopped herself next to Emma. Snow smiled. She realized that the two must have buried the hatchet. 

“No. We’re waiting.” Ruby sighed, scouring the pile of snacks for something sweet. She pulled out a box of chocolate and powdered donuts. 

“How much longer?” She munched on a powdered donut, a white residue creating a mustache on her upper lip.

“A few minutes.” Regina smiled, rubbing her knees. Ruby bounced excitedly and Snow squealed.

“So, are you girls excited?” Charming asked, resting his arm around Snow’s shoulders. Regina nodded.

“I’ve been fantasizing about being pregnant for a very long time. I thought it would always be just that, a fantasy.” Emma caressed the brunette’s thigh lovingly before turning to her father.

“I’ve actually been thinking about this for weeks. I can’t believing it’s happening.” The blonde blushed.

“Might be. We don’t know for sure. Let’s not get our hopes up.” Regina sighed. She was afraid to disappoint her family and herself. She always believed that if you expected the worst than you would never be disheartened. That’s how she lived her life. But the possible pregnancy was different. Regina was already thinking of names and outfits and colors to paint the room. She fantasized about life changes. Would Emma move into the mansion? Would Henry follow? Would they get married? 

The incessant thoughts should’ve been harrowing but it made the brunette excited for the future. She begged every deity in existence to make this happen, to let her be pregnant, to not screw her over. 

A small ding emanated from the bathroom and all the occupants jumped up. Emma stated unnecessarily, “That’s the timer. The tests should be done.”

Regina interlaced their fingers and moved into the bathroom, feeling everyone else follow. The small bathroom was crowded as Regina lifted the first test, the expensive one. 

“Positive!” The combined scream of joy probably roused every Storybrooke citizen. Regina picked up the second, third, fourth, and fifth test. She began crying hysterically. Emma hugged her tightly, burying her face into Regina’s hair.

“They’re all positive!” Emma shouted happily, jumping up and down with tears streaming down her face. Snow was hysterically sobbing in Charming’s arms. Ruby was smiling from ear-to-ear. Henry’s eye’s glistened as he ran over to his mothers and wrapped an arm around each one. 

“I’m so happy!” Snow cried. Charming threw up a hand, urging Emma to high-five, “I’m so happy… I think I’m going to vomit!”

Everyone cleared the path to the toilet as Snow lurched forward causing everything in sight to tumble to the floor, including her husband and daughter.


	23. Faint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doctor's appointment

The crinkly paper below Regina was sticking to her thighs and her hospital gown was a bit too revealing for her liking but this was a momentous moment that could not be over shadowed by minor annoyances. The July heat was sticky, making clothes feel constricting and your sweat glands prepare for battle. 

“It is as hot as mother balls in here.” Emma stated as she fanned herself. She was seated in the plastic chair next to the exam table.

“It’s not that bad. And fanning yourself makes you hotter.” Regina grabbed the blonde’s hand to still it. Emma wiggled in her seat, the plastic protesting.

“I guess I’m nervous, ya know? The first visit was simple tests to prove what the at home pregnancy tests had already told us. This is big, Gina! Our first ultrasound!” Emma nervously wrung her hands together and Regina smiled affectionately as she rubbed her large belly.

“Yes, dear, it is big but I’m excited. We’re going to find out the gender and we can start converting the guest room and thinking of names!” Regina smiled brightly. The past three months had been a whirlwind. The morning after the debacle with the tests, the two lovers went to the hospital to see Dr. Whale and confirm the pregnancy, which it did. He gave them instructions and pre-natal care. 

The town was full of energy, expecting the child to be the most powerful magic wielder to ever exist. The citizens constantly watched over Regina by helping her climb down stairs because her stomach prevented her from seeing the floor, making sure she cooled it with the caffeine, and accompanying her to and from town hall. Emma realized that if Regina hadn’t been on a pregnancy high, she might have zapped them all into oblivion. 

But no matter how obsessive the town seemed, they came nowhere near Snow White. Snow would drop by the mansion, which Emma had moved into when Regina started showing, unannounced, order for the older brunette at Granny’s, and even attempted to feed her a few times. She was insufferable and that was coming from Emma. 

Ruby had been pretty calm about everything. She would fawn over the baby, already buying clothes for unborn child, and drop off lunch at the mayor’s office if Emma couldn’t do it. The biggest development was that she really did back off. She allowed Emma to ask for help instead of just jumping in because she expected the worst from the blonde. 

As for the savior, she managed to get her shit together… mostly. After all, she was Emma Swan. She was bound to fuck up. But the blonde was always on call for Regina. She would run to the supermarket at all hours to satisfy the brunette’s cravings, rub her back and hold her hair when she vomited, and cuddle her when she felt down. Emma acknowledged that these months were the happiest of her life. She was expecting a child with her true love and she realized that being affectionate towards Regina was actually very nice. It made her feel… right. The mansion became her home. 

Every morning, Emma would wake up to the smell of bacon and walk downstairs to be greeted by Henry and Regina, who waddled around adorably. Yeah, life was really good. 

“Would you like a girl or a boy?” Emma questioned as she clasped the brunette’s left hand and stroked the round belly that held her progeny. Regina scrunched up her face in contemplation.

“Well… we already have a precious boy… so maybe a girl would be nice.” Regina stated slowly and Emma kissed the brunette’s hand.

“I’d be happy with either but a little girl would be amazing. I can imagine a girl that looks just like you.” Emma sighed happily before leaning up to place a sweet peck on her love’s lips. Before Regina could respond, the door opened and Whale walked in casually. 

“Hello Madame Mayor, Sheriff Swan,” The doctor rolled the backless stool towards the exam table and motioned for the brunette to lay back. Emma helped the woman scoot back and lean back. Whale grabbed a bottle and positioned it above Regina’s exposed belly, “This may be cold. We haven’t gotten our shipment of the heated gel yet. Maybe you should work on that Miss Mills.”

“Really douche wad? Do the damn ultrasound!” Emma bellowed, glaring at the doctor. Whale smirked at Regina, who just shrugged. The doctor squeezed some gel onto her and grabbed the wand. He pressed the device and a picture popped up on the screen. The two women stared in awe as the doctor moved around the device.

“Hear that?” The women nodded, “That’s… that’s… their heartbeats.”

“You mean a heartbeat?” Regina stuttered, perturbed by the man’s strange behavior, “Is everything okay?”

“Ladies… there’s two heartbeats,” Whale let out a bark of laughter at the women’s frightened faces, “Twins! You’re having twins!”

“What?” Regina shrieked as Emma’s eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma groaned, feeling her head pulsate. She couldn’t open her eyes yet. They felt extremely heavy. She remembered why she fainted and a small smile puffed out her cheeks. Twins! She was having two children with Regina. She felt warmth spread through her chest. She wondered what gender they were. Her fainting put a stop to the process but hopefully that oaf of a doctor printed out a picture so Emma could make copies and brag around town. 

“Is she okay?” She heard her mother screech from her left. 

“Whale said she should wake up any second.” Regina sighed and Emma tried to open her eyes again. She didn’t want Regina to be stressed. It wouldn’t be good for the babies. Babies. She was able to open her eyes and saw Regina, Ruby, Snow, Charming, and Henry.

“Did you tell them?” Emma murmured and everyone’s eyes snapped to the hospital bed. Her family surrounded her and she laughed weakly. 

“Honey! Do you feel alright?” Regina cradled the blonde’s face lovingly, tears glistening her eyes.

“Hey, don’t cry. I’m great, just wondering about our babies.” Emma whispered, leaning up to kiss the brunette’s cheek.

“Babies?” Snow mouth was agape, her hands covering her mouth with anticipation. Regina and Emma turned to face the woman whose complexion was turning white. Henry jumped up.

“Twins?” He yelled excitedly. Regina nodded as Snow’s eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After hours of observation at the hospital, both Emma and Snow were released and the family made their way to Mifflin. They wanted to be together after such exciting news. Plus, there were still a lot of things to discuss, like the gender. Regina was keeping the information quiet, wanting to tell them when everyone was seated. Hell, she was trying to avoid a head injury. Everyone piled into the study, plopping down exhaustedly. Snow and Emma were sipping on red Gatorade, trying to stay hydrated. 

“Are any of you hungry?” Regina questioned from the doorway. Emma sat up and waved the brunette over.

“Nuh uh, you come here and tell us what we’ve been waiting to hear all day.” Regina chuckled but complied, sitting comfortably on Emma’s lap, who groaned jokingly. The brunette slapped her bicep.

“So?” Charming questioned as he scooted forward, hoping to catch Snow if she collapses again. 

Regina looked around, smirked at Ruby, and cleared her throat, “We’re having… two girls.”

“Oh! Two girls!” Ruby shouted, jumping up to hug the two women simultaneously. 

“Oh, two girls!” Henry scrunched up his face, “There’s going to be a lot of estrogen over here.”

“I can’t wait to buy dresses and shoes and sparkly shirts!” Snow clapped excitedly. 

“The apocalypse has come… and no one will be spared.” Ruby joked, laughing when Snow threw a glare her way. Emma and Regina smiled at each other and Emma leaned into her ear, giving it a brief kiss.

“Two girls, two beautiful girls. Regina, it’s going to be an amazing nightmare.” Regina’s resounding laugh made everyone smile.


	24. Labor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina gives birth

Regina was wobbling through the supermarket behind Emma and Snow, her stomach reaching far in front of her and her eyes catching on the donut selection. 

“Baby, just get a box. You’re drooling.” Emma teased, pausing in her steps to allow Regina to catch up. Snow kept moving forward to grab a block of Muenster cheese. The brunette was due to pop any day and Christmas was coming up in a few days. Luckily, there was no snow on the ground but the weather was frigid. The lovers didn’t want to girls to arrive on the holiday for obvious reason, even though the babies would be the greatest gift. So, the women were attempting to speed up the process by having sex often, taking walks, and, weirdly enough, stimulating the brunette’s nipples. Regina refused the Castor oil vehemently though. 

Regina picked a box up from the shelf and popped open the box before taking a large bite from the chocolate donut, “God, so good.”

“I can’t believe I’m jealous of a donut.” Emma murmured and Regina frowned. Since her six-month mark, the brunette began insecure about her body. Emma made sure to tell the woman that she was gorgeous every morning and worshipping her body every night. 

“I don’t know why you’d be jealous. I’m a whale.” Regina grumbled. Snow stopped the cart in front of the older brunette and pouted playfully. 

“Is somebody mopey?” She questioned as she walked around the couple. 

“Did she just call me Moby?” Regina narrowed her eyes at the back of Snow’s head. Emma let out a burst of laughter. Snow grabbed a package of bacon and walked back to the couple, reaching around to throw the item in the cart. 

“Mom, are you and dad going to the town-wide New Year’s party? I hear they’re going to block off Main Street and set up rides and stuff.” Emma asked as she swiped a donut from Regina’s box, narrowly missing a slap from her fiancé. 

Yes, they were engaged. The proposal was not romantic but it was humorous. They had each thought about proposing and went to the same store, on the same day, at the same time. They ran into each other, staring wide-eyed before bursting out in laughter. They came to the obvious conclusion that they wanted to marry each other so shopped separately for rings. They went to dinner and revealed the rings they selected for one another and made heartfelt speeches. It was nice and it was so… them with the humor and fluff. They were disgusting. It was great. 

“Depends. Are you girls going with Henry?” Snow questioned as she opened a bag of grapes in the cart and popped a few into her mouth. An employee glared at her and Snow shrugged, “I’m going to pay for it.”

Regina snorted before replying, “Yes, we thought it would be— ah!”

“Regina! Are you okay?” Emma latched onto her arm, allowing the brunette to painfully squeeze. Emma heard splattering on the linoleum floor and looked down to see a clear liquid under Regina.

“I think my water just broke.” Regina stated through gritted teeth. Snow ran to their side and pulled out her cellphone, dialing the hospital. 

“Hello, you’ve reached Storybrooke Emergency. How may we help you?” A nurse greeted. 

“Regina Mills is going into labor and we walked to the supermarket! We need an ambulance!” Snow yelled into the device, her hand rubbing circles on the older brunette’s back. 

“Uh! We don’t have an ambulance!” The nurse panicked. Snow quirked a brow and looked at the phone incredulously. 

“Excuse me?” Snow growled as Regina let out a shrill scream. The entire supermarket ran to the dairy aisle and circled the women.

“Maybe you should yell at the queen! She didn’t give us a ambulance in the curse!” 

“Lady, you better send some nurses with a gurney stat. If you don’t, and my grandbabies are born in the supermarket next to the exotic cheeses and yeasty yogurts, I’ll personally make your life a living hell.” Snow growled and the nurse quickly complied, yelling out orders in the hospital. Snow shut the phone and leaned down to whisper words of comfort into Regina’s ear. 

“Ah! These kids are killing me already!” Emma yelped as Regina squeezed her hand so hard that the blonde was sure it was broken.

“You?” Regina shrieked as she grabbed Emma’s jacket lapels and pulled her close, “They’re ripping apart my vagina!”

Regina grabbed a box of Ho Ho’s and viciously tore open a package with her teeth before shoving one in her mouth. Emma grabbed the other package and nervously chewed on the chocolate treat. Snow burst out laughing and the two expecting mothers glared at her.

“You have to admit that these things only happen to us.” Snow chuckled, gripping her sides. Soon, Regina and Emma joined in, realizing how ridiculous this situation was. Suddenly, Regina bent and let out another scream.

“How far apart are the contractions?” Snow asked, wiping at her eyes.

“Uh, I don’t know, about ten minutes apart.” Regina stuttered. Finally, like a choir of angels, four male nurses dressed in scrubs entered the supermarket with a gurney. Emma wrapped her arm under Regina’s armpits and moved her toward the nurses. The men helped the brunette onto the gurney but before they could take off the brake, Snow jumped onto the bottom and sat between Regina’s legs, caressing her tummy.

“Snow!” Regina shrieked and Emma covered her eyes with her healthy hand. 

“I’m tired and I’m not walking all the way to the hospital! Let’s get a move on!” Snow bellowed, scaring the nurses in submission. Emma rolled her eyes and followed the gurney onto the street and across town.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“One more push and you’ll have baby girl numero uno!” Whale yelled and Regina complied, pushing and screaming. Emma, for a reason she wouldn’t be able to come up with later, screamed along with Regina. Honestly, the blonde was scared as shitless. Watching her love in such pain made her grimace and cringe. Suddenly, the two women heard a cry that didn’t come from the mothers. Whale stood slowly, holding a disgustingly filthy, covered in bodily fluid, beautiful baby girl. 

“Oh, my little angel!” Emma cried, her eyes glistening. Regina was openly sobbing as her daughter was placed in her arms momentarily. Emma leaned over and looked at everything, her small, closed eyes and patch of brown hair. A nurse took her away to clean her up.

“Okay, Madame Mayor, push again to introduce the next little booger.” Whale bellowed from between Regina’s legs. Regina bowed forward and let out another cry. The doctor lifted once more and placed the baby girl in Emma’s arms. This girl had the same eye shape but had a patch of blonde hair. 

“Our baby… she’s so beautiful.” Emma cried, tears streaming down her face. 

“They both are.” Regina replied, tears constricting her voice. 

“Yeah.” Emma sighed, smiling like an idiot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Snow and Charming ran into the room a few hours later to see Regina holding a dark haired baby and Emma holding a blonde baby. Snow covered her mouth, feeling extremely emotional. Charming was smiling, unabashed tears in his eyes. Henry ran to Regina’s side and leaned up on his tiptoes to get a better view. Ruby stood in the corner, a wide smile lighting up her face.

“So, who are we talking about here?” Charming asked as he and his wife stepped forward.

“This,” Emma lifted her arms and stroked the baby’s blonde patch of hair as she peeked at Ruby meaningfully, “is Scarlett. We named her in honor of a great friend and, hopefully if she accepts, her godmother.”

“Me?” Ruby whispered emotionally and Regina nodded, “Oh, I’d be honored! I am honored! Whose the godfather?”

“Robin. And this,” Regina smiled at Snow, “is Eva. Named after a good mother and kind soul that was taken too soon.”

“Oh,” Snow walked forward, crying silently, “I… Regina… I can’t thank you enough for the gesture.”

“Thank me by being her godmother,” Regina asked and Snow breathed shakily before the older brunette continued, “And Charming, we’d like you to be her godfather.”

Snow looked at her husband and received a nod before turning to her former stepmother, “We’d be honored.”

“So, Eva and Scarlett, huh?” Henry looked at them animatedly, “My two sisters!”

Everyone rushed in to get a closer look at the new family members, obsessing and cooing. 

Their life had been rocky but, Emma realized, those hard times lead them there, holding their babies and surrounded by loved ones. 

Life was fucking fantastic.


	25. Epilogue

“Scar! Eva! Get dressed or your mommy is going to kill me!” Emma yelled from the bottom of the mansion stairs. Giggles could be heard from the second floor and the blonde could not pinpoint when exactly her little girls became little demons but they loved to torture her. They were angels for Regina. They snuggled up to the brunette and fought to sit on her lap and gave her kisses. With Emma, they loved to make fun and tease and play pranks on her. Emma supposed it was payback for the original Henry debacle. Regina got all the love, Emma got all the teasing. But Emma could live with that because seeing Regina smile so brightly when she comes from work was a blessing. Plus, the blonde secretly enjoyed the mischief, even when it was aimed at her. It gave life some flare. 

“Coming!” She heard Eva reply. Eva was the sweeter one, couldn’t hurt a fly unless Scar was coercing her. Her hair was dark, black as night, and her eyes were a very light green. She loved to wear floral dresses, headbands, and sandals. She loved theatre and ballet. She was very intelligent, a genius some say, and logical. She loved classical music, which scared Emma. What seven-year-old loved Bach? 

But Scar, she was something else. She had long beautiful blonde hair that she always kept in a ponytail. Her chocolate eyes always twinkled with mischief. She was a tomboy through and through. She loved t-shirts, basketball shorts, and beat up sneakers. She watched the Red Sox play everyday and checked stats. She played softball and soccer and basketball. She loved mainstream pop music. She was an extremely streetwise sweet talker. But most importantly, she loved to bother Emma and make her look like a moron. Regina loved that.

“If you girls aren’t down here in five seconds—“ 

“You’re setting us up for failure!” Eva popped her head out from around the banister, “How am I supposed to get down there in five seconds if I have braided by hair yet?”

“You don’t need a braid, E. Just come down. You look beautiful.” Emma attempted to coerce to naïve child.

“You can’t even see me! My body is behind this thing.” Eva scrunched up her face. Damn, the girl was learning more and more everyday. The teenage years were going to kill the couple.

“Please, sugar, come down. You don’t want your mommy to be mad at your mama, do you?” Eva’s eyes widened and she sprinted down the stairs. Emma smiled and caught the girl in mid-air. She slapped a slobbery kiss onto the girl’s cheek.

“Mama! Ew!” The brunette girl shuffled out of her hold as Emma chuckled. As the girl walked away, Emma gave her a tap on the bum and laughed when Eva sent her a glare. That one had the Regina Mills glare down pat. 

“Where’s your sister?” Eva shrugged her little shoulders and Emma groaned, turning back to the stairs.

“Scarlett Swan-Mills! Get your JLO ass down here!” Emma shrieked, exasperated. Eva gasped.

“Mommy says that that word is inappropriate!” Eva whispered, as if Regina would swing down from the rafters and scold them. Emma couldn’t help but smile at the thought of her wife. The blonde falls more and more in love with every breath she takes.

Emma sighs happily and thinks, “We’re so sweet, it’s gross.”

The front door swings open and Regina strolls in casually. Emma had pretty much stayed the same over the years, except the addition of a few wrinkles. Regina, though, looked sexier. Then again, she was biased. The brunette’s hair had grown to touch the top of her breasts, framing her face perfectly. It had also changed style with age. Regina’s hair was wavy but not dramatically so. Her breasts had stayed larger after the pregnancy but her waist had slimed down. The brunette had gone crazy with dieting after the birth of the twins, even though Emma constantly told her it was unnecessary. The blonde loved her wife whether she was 120 pounds or 320 pounds. 

But, in all honesty, Regina had never looked better and Emma couldn’t get enough. Luckily for them, they had always found ways to be intimate. Emma would sneak into the mayor’s office and they would make love on the couch in front of the fire, or the sorceresses would freeze time so that they could have alone time without worrying about the children. The women had gotten creative. 

“Mommy!” Eva shouted, running at full speed toward her brunette mother, who just opened her arms and took the brunt of the attack with grace. Emma chuckled as she watched Regina tickle the girl’s sides and Eva giggle uncontrollably.

“Where’s my Scar?” Regina shouted happily and Emma glared when the blonde girl came running down at the sound of her other mother’s voice.

“Mommy!” The blonde girl yelled, her voice raspy. She blew right past Emma, who threw her arms up, and jumped onto Regina. The mayor cradled their heads and smiled at them.

“Henry’s college graduation is today and we can’t be late. Do you think you can be ready in,” Regina checked her watch, “ten minutes?”

The girls nodded before running back up the stairs. Emma sighed and pulled the brunette in for a kiss. As usual, it got a bit passionate and Emma moaned quietly. Regina pulled back with a nip to the blonde’s lips.

“You taste sweet,” Regina quirked a brow, “Did you have a bear claw for lunch?”

“No!” Emma sputtered unconvincingly and Regina smirked. Emma stomped her foot and whined, “Regina, I hate granola bars.”

“I know you do but the doctor said your cholesterol was a bit above normal.” The brunette chuckled, knowing how much Emma hated eating healthier options.

“When I die, I want to go with a bear claw in my hand and your pussy in my mouth.” Emma purred into the brunette’s ear. Regina shivered and licked the skin below the blonde’s left ear. 

“You’re incorrigible,” Regina smiled sensuously as Emma kissed from her ear to her collarbone and nipped, “No marks! I’m wearing a dress and I do not want to walk around Henry’s campus with an Emma sized hickey.”

Emma pulled back, made eye contact with her wife, and sighed, “I love you, Baby. I’m so lucky.”

“I love you too, Honey,” Regina leaned their forehead’s together and looked down, “You’re not wearing those shoes to the ceremony, are you?”

Emma looked down at her black and white sneakers, “What? They match the outfit… right?”

“Emma, you’re wearing professional slacks and white button up shirt. You can’t wear Converse with that.”

“I can’t and I will… and I look fabulous. You’re just jealous.” Regina lifted her hand sin surrender.

“Honey, as you once said to me before our first date, you could wear a garbage bag and I’d swoon.” Emma chuckled and wrapped her arms around her wife tightly.

“Can you believe Henry is graduating from college? He’s a man now. It’s crazy.” The blonde shook her head and Regina sighed.

“I know. My little prince isn’t so little anymore.” Regina joked, turning to the stairs, “Girls! It’s been ten minutes!”

The two women could hear the desperate pitter-patter of little feet as the sprinted down the stairs. The family made their way to the black mini-van and the girls automatically took the third row seats because they were going to pick up Snow, Charming, and Neal. 

“Is aunt’s Ruby and Hades coming?” Scar asked from across the car. Regina looked back at the girls, checking to see if they had their seatbelts and nodding internally when she saw that they had, as Emma put the car in drive.

“Yes but they’re taking their own car. We all won’t fit in here.” Regina smiled at the girls before turning back to look at the road. 

“Did you girl’s bring your DS’s? It’s a two hour trip to Northeastern U.” Emma questioned, looking at the twin’s through the rearview mirror. Regina affirmed, saying that she packed the devices in the travel bags. The girl’s lifted their respective bags so that Emma could see them. 

The car pulled up to the curb outside of Snow and Charming’s home. They had moved out after Emma and Regina’s wedding, in hopes that they could babysit the babies whenever the couple needed alone time. The house was a beautiful cottage style home with six bedrooms, enough space for the grandbabies and the daughter-in-law. Regina chuckled as she watched Charming wrangle his family’s travel bags and Snow walked empty handed behind him. Nine-year old Neal trailed in the back, too busy aggressively pounding on his PSP buttons. 

Emma hopped out of the car to help her father as Snow jumped into the second row’s left seat and ordered Neal into the third row. The boy rolled his eyes and threw a happy smirk at Regina before making sitting next to Scar. The two immediately began talking excitedly about a video game that was to be released in a week. 

“So, Regina, nervous for Henry?” Snow leaned forward in her seat, and stuck her head in between the two front seats to get a better look at her daughter-in-law’s face.

“No. Years ago, I thought I’d be a wreck but I’m just excited for him.” Regina smiled brightly, twisting her body to face Snow.

“Oh, we’ll see. You’ll probably bawl your eyes out when his name get’s called.” Regina chuckled and agreed as Emma and Charming returned to their seats.

“Everybody ready?” Emma asked, throwing a large grin at her wife before looking in the rearview mirror to take in the sight of her family. Family. Something she thought she’d never have. The blonde felt her eyes tear up and cleared her throat as she reached to clasp Regina’s hand with her free one.

“Let’s go, Honey. I’d like to get there before I’m a hundred.” Regina teased.

“Technically, aren’t you pretty close?” 

“Charming!” Snow shrieked.

“I wouldn’t talk shepherd. You’re not far off either.” Regina chuckled as Snow smacked her husband’s bicep. 

“So rude.” Snow mumbled.

“It’s the truth! Embrace it Snow!” The man yelped and the kids in the back cheered. 

Oh, yeah. Life was really, really, really great.


End file.
